Device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfection fluid for hands, comprising a reservoir for receiving the fluid, a dispensing opening (4) for the fluid which is in fluid communication with the reservoir for receiving the fluid via a pump and metering unit (7), so that when the pump and metering unit (7) is actuated a defined quantity of the fluid is pumped from the reservoir and dispensed from the dispensing opening (4), an actuating element (5) for manually actuating the pump and metering unit (7) and a counter (12) whose counter value is changed by a predetermined value each time the actuating element (5) is actuated.

Description

[0001] Devices for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, are known, for example, from DE 102 58 272 A1 or EP 3 650 128. They play an indispensable role, particularly in nursing homes and hospitals, for safe and hygienic work with and on residents and / or patients, which is why it must be ensured that they are always ready for use and, in particular, that they are filled with a sufficient amount of fluid. A situation in which a caregiver rushing to the scene in an emergency is obliged to disinfect their hands before initiating measures, but then cannot do so immediately because they notice that the disinfectant dispenser is empty when operating it, must be avoided at all costs.

[0002] At the same time, such devices for dispensing fluids, especially hand cleaning, care, or disinfection fluids, must be procured and installed in large quantities by the relevant institutions. To keep the associated investment costs within manageable limits, they should be as simple as possible and contain no unnecessary gimmicks, which also increase the energy consumption of the fluid dispensing devices. In the case of devices that are usually designed without a power connection, this can result in the fluid dispensing device failing to function due to depleted batteries, even when a sufficient amount of fluid is still available.

[0003] The object of the invention is therefore to provide a relatively inexpensive basic model of a device for dispensing a fluid, which still enables level monitoring with reduced energy consumption.

[0004] This object is achieved by a device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands, having the features of claim 1.

[0005] Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0006] The device according to the invention for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, comprises a reservoir for receiving the fluid and a dispensing opening for the fluid, which is in fluid communication with the reservoir for receiving the fluid via a pump and dosing unit, so that upon actuation of the pump and dosing unit, a defined amount of the fluid is conveyed from the reservoir and dispensed from the dispensing opening. The reservoir can be, for example, a bottle or a bag; preferably, it is designed to be replaceable or at least refillable.

[0007] The device according to the invention for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, further comprises an actuating element for manually actuating the pump and dosing unit. This eliminates the need for sensors that are used, for example, when the pump and dosing unit is activated in response to the detection of an RFID tag. Manual actuation of the pump and dosing unit occurs particularly when the energy required for the pump and dosing process is provided by the actuating element, i.e., not just when a motor is switched on, which then drives the pump and dosing unit. This avoids the use of another expensive system component, which also represents another significant energy consumer.

[0008] Finally, the device according to the invention for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, also comprises a counter whose reading is changed by a predetermined value each time the actuating element is actuated. Such a counter can have a display and / or be arranged so that it is visually readable by the user; as explained further below, the reading can also be stored internally and then read out or transmitted via electronic signal communication.

[0009] Such a counter allows the amount of fluid dispensed to be tracked to a good approximation based on the number of dispensing processes that have taken place, thus ensuring timely refilling of fluid. Since the pump and dosing device specifies a maximum dispensed amount per actuation, this also ensures that the fill level is kept on the safe side and that the level is only underestimated - for example, if an actuation is counted in which the full amount of fluid was not dispensed. In the simplest - but not the most convenient - case, during a regular round of all devices for dispensing a fluid, especially a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, the difference between the meter reading and the meter reading during the last round or the last refill can be determined. This allows a decision to be made as to whether the reservoir needs to be replaced or filled.This process can be made significantly more convenient if the fluid dispensing device has a control element that resets the counter. This could, for example, be a button that confirms the refilling or replacement of a reservoir.

[0010] The process becomes even more convenient if the counter is designed and configured to at least approximately indicate the fill level of the reservoir. This can be achieved by resetting the counter to a value that corresponds to the amount of fluid that can be drawn from a full reservoir, e.g., for a 1000 ml reservoir, 996 ml, i.e., a counter reading of 996. Then, each time the actuating element is actuated, the counter reading is decreased by the number of ml dispensed, e.g., 3 if the pump and dosing unit delivers 3 ml of fluid per stroke.

[0011] In principle, such counters can be implemented mechanically, but this is preferably done electronically, and preferably in such a way that the counter is a component of an evaluation electronics system. In an advantageous development, the device comprises a means for generating a signal upon actuation of the actuating element, the evaluation electronics comprises a sensor for receiving the generated signal, and the evaluation electronics is designed and configured such that upon receipt of the generated signal by the sensor, the counter reading is changed by the specified value.

[0012] Embodiments have proven particularly useful in which the means for generating a signal upon actuation of the actuating element is a magnet and the sensor for receiving the generated signal is a magnetic field sensor, preferably a Hall sensor.

[0013] In a preferred development of such an embodiment, the actuating element is a lever, and the magnet is arranged on the lever or on an extension of the lever in such a way that, when the lever is actuated, it is guided past the magnetic field sensor of the evaluation electronics. Levers make it easy to apply the force required for the purely mechanical actuation of the pump and dosing unit and can also be easily operated without using the hands, for example, with the elbow. Furthermore, the lever arm allows the magnet to be arranged at a suitable distance from the section of the lever used to operate the pump and dosing unit.

[0014] It is preferred if the evaluation electronics has a means for measuring time and a memory and is designed and configured such that, upon receiving the signal generated upon actuation of the operating element, the time determined using the means for measuring time is stored in the memory. The addition of these components only insignificantly increases the power consumption of the evaluation electronics, but at least allows basic verification of the proper use of the device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands, when reading the memory. If, for example, in a care facility, the morning washing of a resident is documented, but reading the memory of the disinfectant dispenser shows that it was not operated at that time, retraining of the relevant nursing staff may be advisable.

[0015] Due to the low power consumption, a battery, especially a high-performance battery, can provide the power supply for the evaluation electronics.

[0016] If the evaluation electronics has a voltage sensor for measuring the charging voltage of the battery, it is easy to ensure that the device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands, is ready for use by changing the battery in good time when the charging voltage drops.

[0017] Due to the extremely low power consumption, it is even possible for the lifetime of other components of the device for dispensing a fluid, especially a hand cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid, to be the limiting factor for its service life, allowing the battery to be permanently installed. This is especially true if it is a high-performance battery.

[0018] Due to the associated low energy consumption, the data stored by the evaluation electronics is preferably transmitted to a server via a WLAN module assigned to the evaluation unit for communication with a server.

[0019] Preferably, the evaluation electronics are designed and configured to transmit at least the meter reading to the server via the WLAN module. If this occurs after each meter reading change, a timestamp can also be assigned by the server; time measurement and local storage are then unnecessary.

[0020] Alternatively, the evaluation electronics can also be designed and configured to transmit the battery charging voltage and / or the time at which the control element was actuated, determined by the time measurement device and stored in the memory, to the server via the WLAN module. This has the advantage that the WLAN module does not have to be continuously active, but is only activated at specific times to transmit the usages that occurred between such times.

[0021] If such data transmission to the server is provided, the aforementioned need for walk-through meter readings is eliminated, and it becomes clear that the meter doesn't necessarily need a display on which the meter reading can be read, even if it is convenient to be able to simply read the meter reading locally. On the other hand, such a display also increases power consumption.

[0022] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to figures showing an exemplary embodiment. It shows: Fig. 1: an external view of an embodiment of a device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands, Fig. 2: a cross section through the device for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands, from Figure 1 , Fig. 3 an enlarged detail from Figure 2 and Fig. 4 a schematic block diagram of an evaluation electronics.

[0023] Figure 1shows a device 1 for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care, or disinfecting fluid for hands. The device 1 comprises a housing 2 with a lid 3, which allows access to the interior of the device 1 for dispensing a fluid, in which a reservoir for the fluid (not shown in the figures) can be stored. However, it is also possible to form the lid 3 by wall sections of a container containing the fluid.

[0024] The housing 2 further comprises a projection 2a, on the underside of which a discharge opening 4 for the fluid is arranged. Furthermore, Figure 1 a part of an actuating element 5 designed here as a two-armed lever can be seen, namely the lever arm designed as a U-shaped bracket, which a user of the device 1 for dispensing a fluid actuates in order to cause the fluid to emerge from the dispensing opening 4.

[0025] Further details of the structure and function of the actuating element 5 as well as other essential components of the device 1 for dispensing a fluid can be seen in the sectional view according to Figure 2 The dispensing opening 4 is connected via a connecting hose 6 to a pump and dosing unit 7, which, when actuated, conveys a defined amount of fluid from the storage container (not shown here) via its intake hose 8 and allows it to exit the dispensing opening 4. Accordingly, the dispensing opening 4 is in fluid communication with the storage container via the connecting hose 6, the pump and dosing unit 7, and its intake hose 8, which is the case when fluid can be conducted from the storage container to the dispensing opening 4.

[0026] The pump and dosing unit 7 is actuated manually via the actuating element 5 designed as a two-armed lever. For this purpose, an extension 9 is arranged on the lever arm of the actuating element 5 located inside the housing 2, which extension rests on top of a piston 7a of the pump and dosing unit 7.

[0027] To actuate the two-armed lever, which forms the actuating element 5, the user presses on the lever arm arranged outside the housing 2, so that it is pivoted around its bearing axis in the direction of the housing 2. As a result, the lever arm located inside the housing 2, together with the extension 9 arranged thereon, also performs a pivoting movement and presses the piston 7a of the pump and dosing unit downwards against the force of the return spring 7b of the pump and dosing unit 7, thereby actuating the pump and dosing unit 7. After the user releases the actuating element 5, the piston 7a returns to its starting position and sucks in new fluid through the suction hose 8 from the reservoir (not shown) for dispensing through the dispensing opening 4.

[0028] The device 1 for dispensing a fluid also has an evaluation electronics 10, the components of which are shown schematically in Figure 4are shown. As can be seen there, the evaluation electronics 10 in the illustrated embodiment comprises a memory 11, a counter 12 (which can be designed, for example, as a memory module or register or, alternatively, can be implemented in a dedicated memory area of ​​the memory), a sensor 13, which is designed here as a magnetic field sensor, a means for time measurement 14, a voltage sensor 15 and a processor 16, which controls and / or reads out these components, as well as a WLAN module 17. The power supply of the evaluation electronics is ensured by a battery pack with batteries 18, which can in particular be equipped with high-performance batteries.

[0029] How to be particularly good at Figure 3 which is an enlargement of detail A from Figure 2shows, a projection 9a is provided on the extension 9, on which a magnet is arranged as a means 19 for generating a signal upon actuation of the actuating element 5. The shape and position of the projection 9a and the evaluation electronics 10 are adapted to one another in such a way that upon actuation of the actuating element 5, which leads to the release of fluid, the magnet is moved past the sensor 13 by the pivoting movement performed by the extension. The sensor signal thus generated is recorded by the evaluation electronics 10, whose processor 16 changes the counter reading of the counter 12 in response to the sensor signal and optionally also reads the time measurement means 14 and stores the updated counter reading, provided with a time stamp, in the memory 11. In addition, the operating voltage of the batteries 18 can be read out using the voltage sensor 15 and, if necessary, also stored in the memory 11 and / or assigned to a counter reading.The WLAN module 17 allows the transmission of meter readings and associated data such as time stamps or battery voltages to a central server. This can be done either immediately after each sensor signal with the current values ​​or can be transmitted or queried "packet-wise" at specific times. List of reference symbols

[0030] 1Device 2Housing 2aProtrusion 3Cover 4Discharge opening 5Actuator 6Connecting hose 7Pump and dosing unit 7aPiston 8Suction hose 9Extension 9aProtrusion 10Evaluation electronics 11Memory 12Counter 13Sensor 14Means for measuring time 15Voltage sensor 16Processor 17WLAN module 18Battery 19Means for generating a signal

Claims

1. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid, in particular a cleaning, care or disinfecting fluid for hands, with a storage container for receiving the fluid, with a dispensing opening (4) for the fluid, which is in fluid communication with the storage container for receiving the fluid via a pumping and dosing unit (7), so that when the pumping and dosing unit (7) is actuated, a defined quantity of the fluid is conveyed from the storage container and dispensed from the dispensing opening (4), with an actuating element (5) for manually actuating the pumping and dosing unit (7) and with a counter (12), the counter reading of which is changed by a predetermined value each time the actuating element (5) is actuated.

2. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1) for dispensing a fluid has an operating element, the actuation of which resets the counter (12).

3. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the counter (12) is designed and arranged to indicate the fill level of the storage container.

4. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the counter (12) is a component of an evaluation electronics (10).

5. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 4, characterized in that the device (1) has a means for generating a signal (19) upon actuation of the actuating element (5), that the evaluation electronics (10) has a sensor (13) for receiving the generated signal and that the evaluation electronics (10) is designed and configured such that upon receipt of the generated signal by the sensor (10), the counter reading of the counter (12) is changed by the predetermined value.

6. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 5, characterized in thatthe means for generating a signal (19) upon actuation of the actuating element (5) is a magnet and that the sensor (13) for receiving the generated signal is a magnetic field sensor, preferably a Hall sensor.

7. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 6, characterized in that the actuating element (5) is a lever, and that the magnet is arranged on the lever or on an extension (9) of the lever in such a way that it is guided past the magnetic field sensor of the evaluation electronics (10) when the lever is actuated.

8. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the evaluation electronics (10) has a means for measuring time (14) and a memory (11) and is designed and configured such that, upon receipt of the signal generated upon actuation of the operating element (5), the time determined by the means for measuring time (14) is stored in the memory (11).

9. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that a battery (19), in particular a high-performance battery, which forms the power supply of the evaluation electronics (10).

10. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 9, characterized in that the evaluation electronics (10) has a voltage sensor (15) for measuring the charging voltage of the battery (19).

11. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the battery (19) is permanently installed.

12. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to one of claims 4 to 11, characterized in that the evaluation electronics (10) has a WLAN module (17) for communication with a server.

13. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 12, characterized in that the evaluation electronics (10) is designed and configured to transmit at least the meter reading to the server via the WLAN module (17).

14. Device (1) for dispensing a fluid according to claim 13, characterized in that the evaluation electronics (10) is designed and configured to transmit the charging voltage of the battery (18) and / or the time, determined by the time measuring means (14), at which the operating element (5) was actuated, to the server via the WLAN module (17).

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