Dispenser with palm reader

• US 8,245,877 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2009
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gotohti.Com Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gotohti.Com Inc.
• Inventors: Ophardt, Heiner
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaver, Kevin P
• Assistant Examiner(s): WEISS, NICHOLAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/458,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20110017769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 222/173, 222/181.1, 222/181.3, 222/325, 222/63, 222/52, 222/1
• US Class Current: 222/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1217 Electrical control means for the dispensing mechanism

Abstract

A dispenser, more particularly, a hand cleaner dispenser incorporating a reader for a user'"'"'s hand in the form of a palm reader which avoids the need for contact between the user'"'"'s hand and the dispenser yet provides opportunity for the monitoring of usage including determining the identities of users.

Claims

1. A method of dispensing material onto a person'"'"'s hand comprising:

placing a user'"'"'s hand such that an upwardly directed palm of the user'"'"'s hand is disposed under a fluid outlet from which fluid is to be dispensed,

sensing with a hand sensor that the palm of the user'"'"'s hand is underneath the outlet within a desired proximity of the outlet,

after sensing with the hand sensor that the hand is proximate the outlet in the desired proximity activating a palm reader disposed to read the upwardly directed palm of the user'"'"'s hand when the user'"'"'s hand is below the outlet to determine whether the palm reader senses a user'"'"'s palm below the outlet, and

if the palm reader senses a user'"'"'s palm is below the outlet by the palm reader receiving an image representing an image which a control mechanism recognizes as reasonably representative of an upwardly directed palm of a user'"'"'s hand, then dispensing material from the outlet for a period of time in a manner that the material will engage the palm of the user'"'"'s hand underneath the outlet within the desired proximity of the outlet,

including determining whether a user'"'"'s hand remains underneath the outlet as sensed by the hand sensor for at least part of a period of time during which the material is dispensed,

activating the palm reader to determine whether the palm reader senses a user'"'"'s palm below the outlet with the dispensed material on the upwardly directed palm by receiving an image representing an image which the control mechanism recognizes as reasonably representative of an image of an upwardly directed palm of a user'"'"'s hand yet with portions of the image replaced by an image the control mechanism recognizes as reasonably representative of dispensed material on the upwardly directed palm.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 including determining whether a user'"'"'s hand remains underneath the outlet as sensed by the hand sensor for a period of time during which the material is dispensed.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 including recording a palm print read.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 including recording a palm print read and whether a user'"'"'s hand was maintained within the desired proximity of the outlet for a desired period of time while material was dispensed.