Dispenser functionality evaluation

• US 10,403,079 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2015
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Wegelin, Jackson William, Brown, Paul Jason, Curtis, Chip
• Primary Examiner(s): Kundu, Sujoy K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, L.
• Application Number:
  US14/597,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20150199865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,692 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1217 Electrical control means for the dispensing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/004 comprising sensors for monitoring the delivery, e.g. by displaying the sensed value or generating an alarm B05B12/08 takes precedence; registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus in general G07C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/08 responsive to condition of liquid or other fluent material to be discharged, of ambient medium or of target ; responsive to condition of spray devices or of supply means, e.g. pipes, pumps or their drive means
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/081 responsive to the weight of a reservoir or container for liquid or other fluent material; responsive to level or volume of liquid or other fluent material in a reservoir or container
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for evaluating dispenser functionality of a dispenser for dispensing a material. In an example, a non-loaded electrical characteristic and/or a loaded electrical characteristic of the dispenser may be measured and evaluated to determine whether to perform a dispense event. In another example, current measurements, such as peak current, may be measured during a dispense event. The current measurements may be evaluated to determine whether a problem exists, such as a mechanical stall, a gear train problem, an actuator problem, a pump problem (e.g., a clogged pump), a mechanical impedance, and/or other issue. Such information may be collected, stored as historical data, and/or used to determine whether to perform subsequent dispense events.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating dispenser functionality of a dispenser for dispensing a material, comprising:

measuring a first electrical characteristic of the dispenser across a power supply of the dispenser while no dispense event is being performed;

responsive to the first electrical characteristic being above a first threshold, performing a dispense event to dispense the material, wherein performing the dispense event comprises actuating a motor of the dispenser to dispense the material through a dispenser nozzle of the dispenser; and

responsive to the first electrical characteristic being between the first threshold and a second threshold;

measuring a second electrical characteristic of the dispenser across a load on the power supply while no dispense event is being performed;

responsive to the second electrical characteristic being above a third threshold, performing the dispense event to dispense the material; and

responsive to the second electrical characteristic being below the third threshold, refraining from performing the dispense event.

2. The method of claim 1, the measuring a second electrical characteristic comprising:

measuring at least one of a current or a voltage across a drivetrain motor load.

3. The method of claim 1, the measuring a second electrical characteristic comprising:

measuring at least one of a current or a voltage across a load separate from a drivetrain and the motor of the dispenser.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

identifying dispense event evaluation data for the dispenser;

evaluating the second electrical characteristic against the dispense event evaluation data to determine dispenser operating data for the dispenser;

responsive to the dispenser operating data not being indicative of a dispense event problem, performing the dispense event; and

responsive to the dispenser operating data being indicative of a dispense event problem, refraining from performing the dispense event.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

responsive to the second electrical characteristic being below the third threshold, providing an alert.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

during a first timespan of the dispense event;

measuring a first peak current; and

evaluating the first peak current to identify a mechanical problem associated with the dispenser.

7. The method of claim 6, the mechanical problem comprising at least one of a mechanical stall, a gear train problem, an actuator problem, a pump problem, or a mechanical impedance.

8. The method of claim 6, comprising at least one of:

generating prior dispense event evaluation data based upon the mechanical problem;

or

providing an alert of the mechanical problem.

9. The method of claim 1, the measuring a first electrical characteristic comprising:

measuring at least one of a current or a voltage across the power supply.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

during the dispense event;

measuring a peak current metric and a peak current timespan metric to generate current characteristic data for the dispense event;

determining a battery status for the dispense event based upon the current characteristic data; and

responsive to the battery status being below a dispense power metric, at least one of;

generating prior dispense event evaluation data based upon the battery status;

or

providing an alert of the battery status.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising:

identifying dispense event evaluation data for the dispenser; and

adjusting at least one of the first threshold, the second threshold, or the third threshold based upon the dispense event evaluation data.

12. A system, comprising:

a pre-dispense evaluation component configured to;

measure a first electrical characteristic of a dispenser across a power supply of the dispenser while no dispense event is being performed;

responsive to the first electrical characteristic being above a first threshold, perform a dispense event to dispense a material; and

responsive to the first electrical characteristic being between the first threshold and a second threshold;

measure a second electrical characteristic of the dispenser across a load on the power supply while no dispense event is being performed;

responsive to the second electrical characteristic being above a third threshold, perform the dispense event to dispense the material; and

responsive to the second electrical characteristic being below the third threshold, refrain from performing the dispense event; and

a motor configured to be actuated during the dispense event to dispense the material through a dispenser nozzle of the dispenser.

13. The system of claim 12, comprising:

a dispense evaluation component configured to;

during a first timespan of the dispense event;

measure a first peak current; and

evaluate the first peak current to identify a mechanical problem associated with the dispenser.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the pre-dispense evaluation component is configured to measure the first electrical characteristic by measuring at least one of a current or a voltage across the power supply, and

the pre-dispense evaluation component is configured to measure the second electrical characteristic by measuring at least one of a current or a voltage across a drivetrain motor load.

15. The system of claim 12, the pre-dispense evaluation component configured to:

identify dispense event evaluation data for the dispenser; and

adjust at least one of the first threshold, the second threshold, or the third threshold based upon the dispense event evaluation data.

16. A method for evaluating dispenser functionality of a dispenser for dispensing a material, comprising:

determining an expected current measurement for a dispense event of the dispenser;

performing the dispense event by dispensing the material, wherein performing the dispense event comprises actuating a motor of the dispenser to dispense the material through a dispenser nozzle of the dispenser;

obtaining a measured current measurement of the dispense event of the dispenser; and

evaluating the measured current measurement against the expected current measurement to identify a component of the dispenser that is experiencing a problem based upon a time during the dispensing event at which the measured current measurement deviates from the expected current measurement.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the component comprises at least one of a pump, a restrictor, or a transistor.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising:

sending a service alert over a network to a computing device indicating that the component is experiencing a problem.

19. The method of claim 16, the evaluating comprising:

comparing the expected current measurement to the measured current measurement to identify the time during the dispensing event at which the measured current measurement deviates from the expected current measurement; and

evaluating which of a plurality of components of the dispenser is likely to be experiencing a problem based upon the time during the dispensing event at which the measured current measurement deviates from the expected current measurement to identify the component that is experiencing the problem.

20. The method of claim 16, the evaluating comprising comparing a peak of the expected current measurement to a peak of the measured current measurement to identify the component of the dispenser that is experiencing a problem.