Fluid delivery device

Abstract

A fluid delivery device for delivering fluid to an eye. A housing selectively receives a bottle in moveably fixed manner. A positioning device in the housing includes a motor and a holding member operably connected to the motor such that actuation of the motor urges the holding member to move about or along a single movement axis relative to the housing. Actuation of the motor responsively causes the housing and the bottle to move about or along the single movement axis relative to the holding member, and movement of the bottle adjusts an alignment of the bottle tip relative to a target portion of the user's eye. Other aspects are also described and claimed.

Description

FLUID DELIVERY DEVICERelated Applications

[0001] This technology may relate to the invention(s) disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 467,236, filed 17 May 2023, by Rumyantsev et al. and titled “FLUID DELIVERY DEVICE”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.Background

[0002] Patients may have difficulty applying prescribed eye drop medication to their eyes, in particular confirming that the application of drops was successful and following the application protocol (e.g., time of day, number of drops, etc.). Missed or ineffective eye drop application leads to worsened treatment outcomes and discourages doctors from prescribing optimal treatment protocols. Further, desired positioning of an eye drop bottle can be difficult for patients, leading to wasted medication or incomplete application of the medication to the eye.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] For a better understanding, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0004] Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a fluid delivery device according to one aspect of the present invention;

[0005] Fig. 2 schematically illustrates the vertical and horizontal meridians of an eye;

[0006] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for delivering fluid to an eye of a user;

[0007] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for determining a probability that fluid released from a bottle will land in an eye of a user;

[0008] Fig. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for determining if fluid has been released from a bottle;

[0009] Fig. 6 is a side view of a fluid delivery system having a first example hardware implementation of the fluid delivery device of Fig. 1 , including the fluid delivery device in a first configuration;

[0010] Fig. 7 is a side view of a portion of the aspect of Fig. 6;

[0011] Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the aspect of Fig. 6;

[0012] Fig. 9 is a perspective bottom view of a portion of the aspect of Fig. 6;

[0013] Fig. 10 is a side view of another example configuration for the fluid delivery device of the aspect of Fig. 6;

[0014] Fig. 11 is a side view of another example configuration for the fluid delivery device of the aspect of Fig. 6;

[0015] Fig. 12 is a side view of a fluid delivery system having another example hardware implementation of the fluid delivery device of Fig. 1 , including the fluid delivery device in a first configuration;

[0016] Fig. 13 schematically illustrates another example configuration for the fluid delivery device of Fig. 12;

[0017] Fig. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method via which a bottle tip may be automatically moved to a position at which the bottle tip is aligned with a target portion of the user’s eye; and

[0018] Fig. 15 is a side view of another example configuration of a portion of the fluid delivery device of the aspect of Fig. 6.Description of Aspects of the Disclosure

[0019] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0020] As used herein, subtracting a first image from a second image refers to a pixel-by-pixel subtraction of one or more chromaticity values associated with each pixel in the first image from the associated value or values of a corresponding pixel in the second image.

[0021] As used herein, the term “user” can be used interchangeably to refer to an individual who prepares for, assists with, and / or performs the operation of a tool.

[0022] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” can include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and / or “comprising,” as used herein, can specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0023] As used herein, the term “and / or” can include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0024] As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” can be interpreted to include X and Y.

[0025] As used herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” can mean “between about X and about Y.”

[0026] As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” can mean “from about X to about Y.”

[0027] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of X and Y” can be interpreted to include X, Y, or a combination of X and Y. For example, if an element is described as having at least one of X and Y, the element may, at a particular time, include X, Y, or a combination of X and Y, the selection of which could vary from time to time. In contrast, the phrase “at least one of X” can be interpreted to include one or more Xs.

[0028] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on,” “attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting,” etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being, for example, “directly on,” “directly attached” to, “directly connected” to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “directly adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature, whereas a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may not have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

[0029] Spatially relative terms, such as “under,” “below,” “lower,” “over,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature’s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms can encompass different orientations of a device in use or operation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if a device in the Figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features.

[0030] It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Thus, a “first” element discussed below could also be termed a “second” element without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure. The sequence of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or Figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.

[0031] Throughout this disclosure, various aspects of this invention can be presented in a range format. It should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual and partial numbers within that range, for example, 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5 and 6. This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.

[0032] The invention comprises, consists of, or consists essentially of the following features, in any combination.

[0033] Fig. 1 illustrates a fluid delivery device 100 for delivering fluid (e.g., a small portion or “drop” of fluid) to the user’s eye, though the device 100 may be configured to deliver fluid to any other target site on the user. It will be appreciated that the device 100 can be configured to selectively receive a bottle containing fluid (medicinal or otherwise) intended for application to the user’s eye or can beconfigured to be integrally formed with the bottle as a single monolithic piece. For example, the device 100 may be configured to selectively receive a “standard” commercially available eye dropper bottle and / or a preservative-free eye dropper bottle.

[0034] The device 100 may include one or more sensors 102 and one or more instruments 104 that are connected electrically to an electronic control unit (“ECU”) 106 of the device 100 for use by the ECU 106 to help align the device / bottle relative to the user’s eye, cause the dispensing of fluid from the bottle, and / or verify the release of fluid from the bottle. For example, the sensor(s) 102 may include at least one of an inertial measurement unit (“IMU”) 108, a camera 110, a force sensor 112, and a touch sensor 114. The instrument(s) 104 may include at least one of an illumination source 116, a feedback device 118, a positioning device 119, a dispensing device 120, and a communications device 122.

[0035] The IMU 108 is configured to track an orientation of the device 100 in space relative to a reference direction, for example, relative to the direction of gravitational force.

[0036] The camera 110 is in a position in which both of the user’s eye and the area proximate the outlet opening of the bottle (e.g., a bottle tip of the bottle) are concurrently imageable via the camera 110. In other words, the camera 110 may be positioned such that the camera’s field of view includes both the bottle tip and the user’s eye when the device 100 and the bottle are in an appropriate position to deliver fluid to the user’s eye, though the camera 110 may instead be positioned to focus its field of view on just a chosen one of the bottle tip and the user’s eye.

[0037] The device 100 may include a spectral filter that is associated with the camera 110. The spectral filter, when provided, attenuates light outside of a narrow band of wavelengths. When the spectral filter is provided, the illumination source 116 may be positioned to illuminate each of the bottle tip and the user’s eye with light having a predetermined wavelength that is within the narrow band of wavelengths. For example, the illumination source 116 may provide infrared light of a predetermined wavelength, and the spectral filter may be selected to attenuate light within the visible spectrum.

[0038] Regardless of whether a spectral filter is provided, the illumination source 116 may be modulated to pulse in synchrony with a frame acquisition rate of the camera 110, with unilluminated frames subtracted from illuminated frames to remove the contribution of other portions of the spectrum as part of a background subtraction process. For example, for a camera operating at forty frames per second, the illumination source 116 can be pulsed at a rate of twenty hertz with a pulse length of twenty-five milliseconds, and alternate frames can be subtracted from an adjacent, illuminated frame to provide the background subtraction. It will be appreciated that the illumination source 116 may include multiple individual light sources (e.g., multiple individual infrared light emitting diodes) that are controlled independently to illuminate the bottle tip and the user’s eye at different times and intensities.

[0039] The ECU 106 may include an alignment module 124 that processes images received from the camera 110 to determine an alignment of the bottle tip with the user’s eye. In other words, the alignment module 124 is configured to determine a probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye, responsive to factors such as, but not limited to, input from the camera 110, input from the IMU 108, any other desired inputs, and / or any combination thereof. The alignment module 124 may be implemented as dedicated hardware components. For example, the alignment module 124 could be implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit, that utilizes one or more images from the camera 110 in combination with an output of the IMU 108 to determine the alignment / probability. Alternatively, the alignment module 124 may be implemented as a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium that stores executable instructions for determining the alignment / probability from the output of the IMU 108 and the camera 110, and / or from any other desired input source(s).

[0040] While the alignment module 124 is shown in Fig. 1 as being implemented on the device 100, the alignment module 124 can be implemented on another device--for example, on a mobile device carried by the user. In such a remotely located configuration, data from the camera 110 and the IMU 108 can be transmitted to the separately located alignment module 124 via the communications device 122. The communications device 122 may include a short-range wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, internet connectivity, such as WiFi, or any other communication protocol / connectivity for transmitting data.

[0041] In another example, the alignment module 124 includes an image processing algorithm that determines the probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye given the outputs of the IMU 108 and the camera 110. For example, the image processing algorithm can apply a number of image processing techniques to one or more images to identify a reflection of the illumination source 116 in the cornea of the user’s eye, including a normalization process, morphological processing, filtering, and clustering. Alternatively or additionally, the alignment module 124 can apply a landmark fitting algorithm to locate the boundary of the eyelid and the iris, with the size and shape of the iris used to establish a location for the user’s eye. Once a location for the user’s eye relative to the bottle tip is established, the location of the user’s eye and the position of the bottle and / or bottle tip relative to gravity can be used to determine the probability that released fluid will land within the user’s eye if fluid is released while the bottle tip is in its current position. This methodology can consider both the expected direction for the released fluid to fall, given the orientation detected at the IMU 108 as well as the stability of the bottle, based on a window of data collected at the IMU 108. Via this methodology, tremors or other unsteadiness in the hands of the user delivering the fluid that might negatively impact the probability that the fluid will land within the user’s eye can also be detected. The tremors / unsteadiness may be represented, for example, as a decreased confidence in the trajectory of the released fluid, such that alignment of the bottle with the user’s eye near a boundary of the exposed area of the user’s eye can be penalized.

[0042] As another example, the output of the IMU 108 and one or more images from the camera 110 may be provided to a machine learning model that outputs the probability that the released fluid will land within the user’s eye if fluid is released while the bottle / bottle tip is in its current position. It will be appreciated that the alignment module 124 can update the probability continually or periodically as new information is received from the camera 110 and the IMU 108, to provide a time series of probabilities that released fluid will land in the user’s eye. The machine learning model can utilize one or more pattern recognition algorithms, each of which may analyze images from the camera 110 or numerical features extracted from the images with orientation data provided via the IMU 108 to assign a continuous or categorical parameter to the probability that released fluid would land in the user’seye. Where multiple classification or regression models are used, an arbitration element can be utilized to provide a coherent result from the plurality of models. The training process of a given classifier will vary with its implementation, but training generally involves a statistical aggregation of training data into one or more parameters associated with the output class. For rule-based models, such as decision trees, domain knowledge, for example, as provided by one or more human experts, can be used in place of or to supplement training data in selecting rules for classifying a user using the extracted features. Any of a variety of techniques can be utilized for the classification algorithm, including support vector machines (“SVM”), regression models, self-organized maps, fuzzy logic systems, data fusion processes, boosting and bagging methods, rule-based systems, or artificial neural networks (“ANN”).

[0043] For example, an SVM classifier can utilize a plurality of functions, referred to as hyperplanes, to conceptually divide boundaries in the N-dimensional feature space, where each of the N dimensions represents one associated feature of the feature vector. The boundaries may define a range of feature values associated with each class. Accordingly, a continuous or categorical output value can be determined for a given input feature vector according to its position in feature space relative to the boundaries. In one implementation, the SVM can be implemented via a kernel method using a linear or non-linear kernel. A trained SVM classifier may converge to a solution where the optimal hyperplanes have a maximized margin to the associated features.

[0044] An ANN classifier may include a plurality of nodes having a plurality of interconnections. The values from the feature vector may be provided to a plurality of input nodes. The input nodes may each provide these input values to layers of one or more intermediate nodes. A given intermediate node may receive one or more output values from previous nodes. The received values may be weighted according to a series of weights established during the training of the classifier. An intermediate node may translate its received values into a single output according to a transfer function at the node. For example, the intermediate node can sum the received values and subject the sum to a rectifier function. The output of the ANN can be a continuous or categorical output value. In one example, a final layer of nodes provides the confidence values for the output classes of the ANN, with eachnode having an associated value representing a confidence for one of the associated output classes of the classifier. The confidence values can be based on a loss function such as a cross-entropy loss function. The loss function can be used to optimize the ANN. In an example, the ANN can be optimized to minimize the loss function.

[0045] Many ANN classifiers are fully connected and feedforward. A convolutional neural network, however, includes convolutional layers in which nodes from a previous layer are only connected to a subset of the nodes in the convolutional layer. Recurrent neural networks are a class of neural networks in which connections between nodes form a directed graph along a temporal sequence. Unlike a feedforward network, recurrent neural networks can incorporate feedback from states caused by earlier inputs, such that an output of the recurrent neural network for a given input can be a function of not only the input but one or more previous inputs. As an example, Long Short-Term Memory (“LSTM”) networks are a modified version of recurrent neural networks, which makes it easier to remember past data in memory.

[0046] A rule-based classifier may apply a set of logical rules to the extracted features to select an output class. The rules may be applied in order, with the logical result at each step influencing the analysis at later steps. The specific rules and their sequence can be determined from any or all training data, analogical reasoning from previous cases, or existing domain knowledge. One example of a rule-based classifier is a decision tree algorithm, in which the values of features in a feature set are compared to corresponding threshold in a hierarchical tree structure to select a class for the feature vector. A random forest classifier is a modification of the decision tree algorithm using a bootstrap aggregating, or "bagging" approach. In this approach, multiple decision trees may be trained on random samples of the training set, and an average (e.g., mean, median, or mode) result across the plurality of decision trees is returned. For a classification task, the result from each tree would be categorical, and thus a modal outcome can be used.

[0047] The alignment module’s determined alignment of the bottle tip relative to the user’s eye and / or the alignment’s module’s determined probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye may be provided to a position control module 126 of the ECU 106. The ECU 106 may control / operate thepositioning device 119 via the position control module 126. In particular, the positioning device 119 may be configured to automatically adjust / move at least the bottle tip to a position at which the bottle tip is aligned with the user’s eye and at which there is high probability (e.g., equal to or above a predetermined probability threshold) that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. The predetermined probability threshold may be set at, e.g., 90% so that a “high probability” is at least a 90% chance that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. However, the predetermined probability threshold may be set to any other desired value.

[0048] The position control module 126 may be configured to target (i.e., align the bottle tip with) a center of the user’s eye as such targeting may produce a desired probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. Releasing fluid to the center of the user’s eye may also result in a greater likelihood that the released fluid will be dispersed evenly over the eye, thereby at least partially reducing the amount of the released fluid that may leak from the user’s eye.Typically, the center of the user’s eye is where a horizontal meridian (HM in Fig. 2) of the user’s eye intersects a vertical meridian (VM in Fig. 2) of the user’s eye.

[0049] The determined alignment of the alignment module 124 may indicate the position of the bottle tip relative to the eye’s center. The position control module 126, receiving this determined alignment, may operate / control the positioning device 119 to move the bottle tip into alignment with the eye’s center. It will be appreciated that the alignment module 124 may be configured to continually or periodically provide updates to the position control module 126 regarding the alignment as the alignment module 124 receives new information. Therefore, the alignment module 124 may “check” the positioning of the bottle tip relative to the eye’s center after or as the positioning device 119 moves the bottle tip to help ensure that the bottle tip is moved to the desired position. In addition to using the determined alignment, the position control module 126 can also receive and utilize feedback (continual or periodic) from the alignment module 124 regarding the determined probability, in order to target the eye’s center.

[0050] While aligning the bottle tip with the eye’s center can be beneficial in many use environments, the position control module 126 may be configured to align the bottle tip with any portion of the eye as long as there is a desired probability that fluiddispensed from the bottle tip will land in the user’s eye. Therefore, after receiving a determined probability from the alignment module 124, the position control module 126 may control / operate the positioning device 119 to move the bottle tip to a position at which the probability is desirable. It will be appreciated that the alignment module 124 may be configured to continually or periodically provide updates to the position control module 126 regarding the probability as the alignment module 124 receives new information. In addition to using the determined probability, the position control module 126 can also receive and utilize feedback (continual or periodic) from the alignment module 124 regarding the determined alignment to adjust the bottle tip.

[0051] The positioning device 119 may include one or more motors operable to move the bottle (and, accordingly, the bottle tip) in an auto-adjusting direction and about or along a single movement axis. The auto-adjusting direction may be perpendicular or otherwise transverse to the single movement axis when the bottle is configured to be moved (e.g., pivoted) about the single movement axis. However, the auto-adjusting direction may be coextensive with (i.e. , extend in the same direction as) the single movement axis when the bottle is configured to be moved along the single movement axis.

[0052] When the bottle is configured to be pivoted about the single movement axis, the device 100 may, for example, be positioned parallel (or substantially parallel) to the horizontal meridian HM of the user’s eye when in use. When the bottle is configured to be moved along the single movement axis, the device 100 may, for example, be positioned such that the movement axis extends perpendicular to the horizontal meridian HM and / or may otherwise extend transverse to the horizontal meridian HM.

[0053] The bottle may thus be pivoted / moved via the motors in the auto-adjusting direction to a position in which the bottle tip is aligned with a target portion of the user’s eye. When the target portion is the eye’s center and the device 100 is positioned such that the single movement axis is parallel to the horizontal meridian HM (when rotating) or perpendicular to the horizontal meridian HM (when translating), the bottle tip may be pivoted / moved into alignment with the eye’s center as long as the bottle tip is aligned with the vertical meridian VM. In other words, when the bottle tip is aligned with the vertical meridian VM and the device 100 ispositioned such that the auto-adjusting direction is parallel to the vertical meridian VM, the bottle tip may be pivoted / moved about / along the single movement axis in the auto-adjusting direction until the bottle tip is aligned with the intersection between the eye’s vertical and horizontal meridians VM, HM.

[0054] It should be noted that, because the position control module 126 and the positioning device 119 automatically align the bottle tip relative to the user’s eye via inputs from the alignment module 124, the alignment module 124, the position control module 126, and the positioning device 119 together may provide a closed- loop, automatic positioning of the bottle tip.

[0055] While the position control module 126 and / or the positioning device 119 can be configured such that the bottle can be pivoted about or moved along more than a single movement axis, having a single movement axis allows for the device 100 to be a relatively small, one-handed device 100. In other words, increasing the number of movement axes could increase the size of the device 100 to the point where the device 100 would generally be too large, heavy, and / or unwieldy to be held in / operated by a user via one hand.

[0056] Furthermore, when the bottle is restricted to only one movement axis, the device 100 can be configured to focus on the narrower (and, thus, harder-to-align) dimension of the eye. As shown in Fig. 2, the vertical dimension of the eye is typically narrower than the horizontal dimension of the eye. Manually aligning the bottle tip with the user’s eye in or along the eye’s vertical dimension thus may be at least somewhat more difficult than aligning the bottle tip with the user’s eye along the eye’s horizontal dimension. Therefore, the device 100 (e.g., at least the positioning device 119) can be configured / positioned such that the bottle tip moves / pivots along the vertical dimension of the user’s eye to automatically align the bottle tip with the user’s eye in the more difficult vertical dimension. Such a configuration / position allows the user to focus on aligning the bottle tip with their eye in the easier horizontal dimension of their eye.

[0057] Returning to Fig. 1 , the alignment module 124 may also provide the determined alignment to the feedback device 118 to help assist the user with aligning the bottle tip with their eye. In particular, because the bottle is only pivoted / moved in the auto-adjusting direction, the feedback device 118 may at leastpartially assist the user in aligning the bottle tip with their eye in at least one direction that extends perpendicular or otherwise transverse to the auto-adjusting direction. The at least one direction that extends perpendicular or otherwise transverse to the auto-adjusting direction is, in some cases, referred to herein as the “manualadjusting direction.” For example, when the device 100 is positioned such that the auto-adjusting direction is coextensive with (i.e. , extends in the same direction as) the vertical meridian of the user’s eye, the manual-adjusting direction may be coextensive with the horizontal meridian of the user’s eye.

[0058] The feedback device 118 may provide at least one audible, a visible, and a tactile / haptic signal to the user indicating whether the bottle tip is aligned with the user’s eye in the manual-adjusting direction. As an example, the device 100 may, in certain situations, be positioned such that the manual-adjusting direction is coextensive with the horizontal dimension of the user’s eye. In such case, the feedback device 118 may help the user align the bottle tip with their eye (e.g., with a target portion of their eye) along the horizontal dimension of their eye, while the position control module 126 may operate the positioning device 119 to automatically align the bottle tip with the user’s eye (e.g., with the target portion of their eye) in the auto-adjusting direction (which, in this case, may be along the vertical dimension of the user’s eye). The feedback device 118 can thus, for example, be used to help the user align the bottle tip with the vertical meridian VM in the manual-adjusting direction so that the positioning device 119 may automatically adjust the position of the bottle tip along the vertical meridian VM (and, thus, in the auto-adjusting direction) until the bottle tip is aligned with the center of the user’s eye.

[0059] It is contemplated that the feedback device 118 and / or any other component of the device 100 or related systems can be used to guide any desired alignment with the user’s eye, whether or not that coincides with an existing orthogonal dimension (e.g., a gravity-driven direction), and for any desired reason. One of ordinary skill in the art can readily configure a feedback device 118, positioning device 119, or other aspect of this technology for a particular use environment.

[0060] The signal provided by the feedback device 118 to the user may indicate the manual-adjusting distance between the bottle tip and a target portion (e.g., the center) of the user’s eye in the manual-adjusting direction. The feedback device 118may be implemented as one or more light sources (e.g., one or more RGB light emitting diodes) positioned such that their emitted light is visible to a user. An intensity, hue, and / or blink frequency of the light can be altered, for example, to indicate the manual-adjusting distance between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye. For example, the manual-adjusting distance can be mapped to a series of colors that represent the manual-adjusting distance between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye, with one color (e.g., green) indicating that the manual-adjusting distance is 0 (and, thus, the bottle tip is aligned with the target portion in the manual-adjusting direction), a second color (e.g., red) indicating that the bottle tip is at a (greater than 0) predetermined manual-adjusting distance from the target portion (and, thus, the bottle tip is relatively far from being aligned with the target portion in the manual-adjusting direction), and a third color (e.g., yellow) representing a manual-adjusting distance that is intermediate between 0 and the predetermined manual-adjusting distance. It will be appreciated that gradations between these colors may be displayed to allow for a more nuanced display of the manual-adjusting distance.

[0061] As another example, the manual-adjusting distance can be mapped to a series of illuminable areas that represent the proximity of the bottle tip is to the target portion of the user’s eye in the manual-adjusting direction. The feedback device 118 may have, for example, at least three illuminable areas, though the feedback device 118 may have any number of illuminable areas. When the manual-adjusting distance is zero, all the illuminable areas may be illuminated via one or more light sources (e.g., one or more RGB LEDs). When the manual-adjusting distance is equal to the predetermined manual-adjusting distance, only one illuminable area may be illuminated. Two illuminable areas (or any number less than the total number of illuminable areas) may be illuminated when the manual-adjusting distance is intermediate between 0 and the predetermined manual-adjusting distance.

[0062] In another example, the feedback device 118 may be implemented as a display screen that provides the manual-adjusting distance or a categorical parameter representing the manual-adjusting distance via text or images.

[0063] In a further example, the feedback device 118 may be implemented as a speaker that provides audible feedback representing the manual-adjusting distance, for example, by varying a volume, pitch, pulse width, and / or pulse rate of an audiotone, or by providing synthesized speech output. In a still further example, tactile or haptic feedback may be provided, with an intensity or frequency of the tactile or haptic feedback provided or altered in accordance with the manual-adjusting distance. It will be appreciated that any of tactile / haptic, visual, and / or auditory feedback may be provided in a binary fashion with feedback provided only when the alignment determination indicates a manual-adjusting distance, of a predetermined level, between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye.

[0064] Once the user has properly aligned the bottle tip with the target portion in the manual-adjusting direction (and been alerted of such proper alignment), the position control module 126 may operate the positioning device 119 to automatically and align the bottle tip with the target portion of the user’s eye in the auto-adjusting direction in the manner described above. Alerting the user of the proper alignment is beneficial so that they can focus on maintaining the proper alignment while the positioning device 119 adjusts the position of the bottle tip in the auto-adjusting direction.

[0065] In addition to, or instead of, providing the determined alignment to the feedback device 118, the alignment module 124 may provide the determined likelihood to the feedback device 118. The feedback device 118 thus may provide at least one of an audible, a visible, and a tactile / haptic signal to the user representing the probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye in any of the fashions previously discussed, which are omitted here for brevity.

[0066] In some configurations of the device 100, the ECU 106 may include a dispenser control module 128 via which the ECU 106 may control / operate the dispensing device 120. In particular, the dispensing device 120 may be configured to apply an ejecting force to the bottle that responsively causes the bottle to release fluid. In one example, the dispensing device 120 may be configured to compress the bottle to selectively urge fluid out through the outlet opening. The dispenser control module 128 may be configured to send a command signal to the dispensing device 120 to cause the dispensing device 120 to apply the ejecting force. In one example, the dispenser control module 128 may send the command signal to the dispensing device 120 directly in response to the user pressing an actuation button of the device 100. The user may, for example, press the actuation button after receiving feedbackfrom the feedback device 118 that there is a high probability (that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye.

[0067] In another example, the dispenser control module 128 may send the command signal to the dispensing device 120 in response to the user pressing an actuation button of the device 100 only after the alignment module 124 determines that there is a high probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. In such a configuration, the alignment module 124 may send signals to the dispenser control module 128 that indicates the probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. It will be appreciated that the alignment module 124 can continually or periodically provide updates to the dispenser control module 128 regarding the probability as the alignment module 124 receives new information. Therefore, in response to the user pressing the actuation button, the dispenser control module 128 may first check the current probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye, and then send the command signal to the dispensing device 120 when the probability is high.

[0068] In yet another example, the dispenser control module 128 may send the command signal to the dispensing device 120 in response to the alignment module 124 determining that there is a high probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. In such a configuration, the alignment module 124 may send signals to the dispenser control module 128 that indicate the probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. It will be appreciated that the alignment module 124 can continually or periodically provide updates to the dispenser control module 128 regarding the probability as the alignment module 124 receives new information. Upon receiving signals indicating that the current probability is high, the dispenser control module 128 may send the command signal to the dispensing device 120 without the user having to specifically press an actuation button and thus risk shifting a position of the bottle due to the actuation hand motion.

[0069] Bottle-specific parameters (e.g., the material the bottle is formed from, characteristics of the included fluid, and / or how much fluid is in the bottle) and / or environmental parameters (e.g., atmospheric pressure, humidity, and / or ambient temperature) may provide challenges in operating the dispensing device 120 to release an accurate predetermined amount of fluid every dispensing event.Therefore, applying the same ejecting force for every dispensing event (regardless of the bottle-specific, environmental, and / or other relevant parameters) may not reliably result in the ejection of the desired predetermined amount of fluid. In view of at least these parameters, the ECU 106 may include a fluid detection module 130 to help produce the predetermined amount of fluid each use.

[0070] The fluid detection module 130 processes images received from the camera 110 to determine if fluid has been released from the bottle. In one implementation, the fluid detection module 130 segments a region of interest (“ROI”) containing the bottle tip from each image provided by the camera 110. The region of interest is blurred, for example, via convolution with a gaussian or uniform structuring element and subtracted from the original ROI, leaving only features with high spatial frequencies. A thresholding process is applied to separate the regions corresponding to the LED reflections in the fluid, and each processed ROI is then convolved with a predefined weight matrix and summed over all pixels to get a score. The score for each image is processed in real-time by passing it through a peakdetection algorithm, with peaks in the score trace corresponding to the times at which fluid was released from the bottle. A time value representing a time at which fluid was released may be recorded in a non-transitory storage medium (not shown) associated with the device 100 or may be transmitted via the communications device 122 to another device.

[0071] Therefore, upon application of the ejecting force, a set of image processing techniques can be applied to one or more images taken by the camera 110 to determine if fluid has been released from the bottle by locating a reflection of an illumination source in the released fluid. The fluid detection module 130 may then transmit a signal representing a status of the fluid release to the dispenser control module 128, and continually or periodically update the fluid release status. If the fluid detection module 130 determines that the fluid has been released, the dispenser control module 128 (upon receiving the appropriate signal from the fluid detection module 130) may responsively cause the dispensing device 120 to terminate its application of ejecting force. If the fluid detection module 130 determines that the fluid has not yet been released, the dispenser control module 128 may responsively cause the dispensing device 120 to continue its application of ejection force and / or increase the amount of applied ejecting force until the fluiddetection module 130 determines that the fluid has been released. Therefore, via the cooperation of the dispenser control module 128, the fluid detection module 130, and the dispensing device 120, the predetermined amount of fluid (or an amount of fluid within an acceptable range of the predetermined amount) may be reliably dispensed every dispensing event.

[0072] While the control module 128 and the dispensing device 120 are included in some configurations of the device 100 to provide automatic fluid dispensing, other embodiments of the device 100 may omit the dispenser control module 128 and / or the dispensing device 120. In these other embodiments, the user may manually apply the ejecting force directly or indirectly to the bottle to responsively cause the bottle to release fluid. Because the user can be notified via the feedback device 118 when there is a high probability that fluid ejected from the bottle will land on the user’s eye, the user can wait for such notification (and / or adjust their positioning of the device until they receive such notification) before they manually cause the ejection of the fluid.

[0073] Any device 100 configuration that includes the manual application of the ejecting force may still include the fluid detection module 130, though the fluid detection module 130 may be configured to send signals to the feedback device 118 indicating the release of fluid. Therefore, if the fluid detection module 130 determines that the fluid has been released, the user may be notified via the feedback device 118 that they may terminate their manual application of ejecting force. If the fluid detection module 130 determines that the fluid has not yet been released, the user may be notified via the feedback device 118 to continue their application of ejection force and / or increase the amount of applied ejecting force until the fluid detection module 130 determines that the fluid has been released.Therefore, via the cooperation of the user, the fluid detection module 130, and the feedback device 118, the predetermined amount of fluid (or an amount of fluid within an acceptable range of the predetermined amount) may be reliably dispensed every dispensing event.

[0074] At least one of the ECU 106, the alignment module 124, the position control module 126, the dispenser control module 128 (when provided), and the fluid detection module 130 may be, may be implemented within, and / or may include, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (“ASIC”), digital signal processors(“DSP”), digital signal processing devices (“DSPD”), programmable logic devices (“PLD”), field programmable gate arrays (“FPGA”), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, computing devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, and / or a combination thereof.

[0075] The force sensor 112 may be, e.g., a force-sensing resistor having a resistance that varies based on the amount of pressure / force that is applied to a sensing area. The force sensor 112 may provide feedback to the ECU 106 (e.g., to the dispenser control module 128) indicating the amount of ejecting force that the dispensing device 120 is applying to the bottle. The feedback from the force sensor 112 may be useful to help prevent the dispensing device 120 from applying an undesirably high amount of ejecting force to the bottle. For example, the feedback from the force sensor 112 may help prevent the dispensing device 120 from applying an undesirably high amount of ejecting force to the bottle when the fluid detection module 130 is not functioning properly. The force sensor 112 may be omitted in a device 100 configuration that includes the manual application of the ejecting force.

[0076] The touch sensor 114 may be, e.g., a capacitive touch sensor that measures changes in capacitance when the user brings their hand / finger in proximity to dedicated electrodes mounted on the device 100. The touch sensor 114, e.g., can be used to detect when the user is holding the device 100 so that the device 100 may be turned on and / or preconditioned for use of the dispensing device 120 (when provided) in response to user touch. The touch sensor 114 (and / or the dedicated electrodes thereof) may also or instead be used as or as a part of the actuation button of the device 100.

[0077] The device 100 may include a power source 132 for use in powering at least one of the sensor(s) 102, the ECU 106, and the instrument(s) 104. The power source 132 may be a rechargeable battery, such as a small LiPo coin cell battery. Alternatively, the power source 132 may be a non-rechargeable (“single-use”) battery, a corded electrical source, an onboard generator (e.g., an inertial or solar cell), or may be of any other suitable configuration for a particular use environment.

[0078] Fig. 3 illustrates an example method 334 for using the device 100 to deliver fluid to the user’s eye from the bottle. The method 334 may commence manually (e.g., via the user depressing an actuation button of the device 100) and / orautomatically (e.g., via the camera 110 or ECU 106 detecting an eye of the user in the camera’s field of view). At step 336, the ECU 106 determines the probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. The determined probability is then output to the user via the feedback device 118 at step 338. Fig. 4 provides an example method 448 for accomplishing steps 336 and 338 of the method 334.

[0079] At step 450, both the user’s eye and the area proximate the outlet opening of the bottle (e.g., the bottle tip) are concurrently illuminated via the illumination source 116. At step 452, both of the user’s eye and the bottle tip are concurrently imaged with the camera 110 to provide at least one image. In one example, both the user’s eye and the bottle tip are illuminated with the light of a predetermined wavelength and imaged through the spectral filter that attenuates light outside of a band of wavelengths including the predetermined wavelength. In another example, the illumination source 116 is pulsed in synchrony with a frame acquisition rate of the camera 110 to produce a plurality of illuminated images and a plurality of nonilluminated images, with an unilluminated image from each illuminated image to provide a background subtracted image during image processing. In a further example, the illumination source 116 includes first and second infrared light emitting diodes (“IR LEDs"). In such a configuration, the user’s eye is illuminated with the first IR LED and the bottle tip is illuminated with the second IR LED, with the first IR LED being inactive at least a portion of a time for which the second IR LED is active. For example, the bottle tip can be illuminated and imaged while the eye is not illuminated to reduce the effects of background illumination on images of the bottle.

[0080] At step 454, an orientation of the bottle is determined via the IMU 108. At step 456, the alignment module 124 determines a probability that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye in response to the determined orientation of the bottle and the at least one image. In one implementation, the at least one image and the determined orientation are provided to a machine learning model trained on previous data labelled with known outcomes to provide the probability that the released fluid will land in the user’s eye. In another implementation, a relative location of the user’s eye and the bottle tip from the at least one image, and that relative location and the orientation of the bottle are used to determine the probability. At step 458, the probability of the drop landing in the eye is provided to the feedback device 118. The feedback device 118 provides at least one of anaudible, visible, or tactile signal to the user representing the likelihood that fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. For example, at least one LED (e.g., at least one RGB LED) on the device 100 can vary in color based on the determined probability to alert the user when fluid can be released with a high probability of successfully landing in the eye. Alternatively, illuminable areas on the device 100 may each be selectively illuminated via at least one LED (e.g., at least one RGB LED) based on the determined probability to alert the user when fluid can be released with a high probability of successfully landing in the eye.

[0081] Returning to Fig. 3, at step 340, if the probability is less than the predetermined probability threshold (e.g., if the probability is low or otherwise not high), the method 334 moves to step 341 . Typically, the bottle tip is not properly aligned with a target portion of the user’s eye if the probability is less than the predetermined probability threshold. Therefore, this misalignment may be corrected in step 341 by adjusting the position of the bottle tip relative to the target portion. The alignment module 124 may determine alignment of the bottle tip relative to the target portion in this or a previous step using the at least one image captured by the camera 110. This determined alignment may include manual-adjusting and autoadjusting distances between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye. The manual-adjusting distance may then be sent to the feedback device 118 so that the user may be guided via the feedback device 118 (in a similar manner as described above) to manually align the bottle tip with the target portion in the manual-adjusting direction. As a result of this manual alignment, the manualadjusting distance between the bottle tip and the target should be reduced to 0 (or substantially 0).

[0082] Before, as, and / or after the bottle tip and the target portion are aligned in the manual-adjusting direction, the alignment module 124 may send the autoadjusting distance to the position control module 126. In a similar manner as discussed above, the position control module 126 operates the positioning device 119 to align the bottle tip with the target portion in the auto-adjusting direction. As a result of this automatic alignment, the auto-adjusting distance between the bottle tip and the target should be reduced to 0 (or substantially 0).

[0083] After the position of the bottle tip is adjusted in the manner described above, the method 334 returns to step 336 so that the probability may again bedetermined. Providing the user with the current probability via the feedback device 118 and then adjusting the position of the bottle tip at step 341 before returning to step 336 gives the user and the device 100 the opportunity to adjust the alignment of the device / bottle tip relative to the user’s eye and then confirm that the adjustment was successful via another probability determination. Therefore, the feedback device 118, the alignment module 124, the position control module 126, and the user (via the feedback device 118) are continually or periodically updated via cycling through steps 336, 338, 340, and 341 to help achieve the proper alignment of the bottle / device relative to the user’s eye. Even after the probability is determined to be high, the feedback device 118, the alignment module 124, the position control module 126, and the user (via the feedback device 118) may continue to be updated throughout the remainder of the fluid dispensing process in order to help maintain the proper alignment.

[0084] If the probability is greater than or equal to the predetermined probability threshold (e.g., if the probability is high), the method 334 proceeds to step 342. At step 342, the dispensing device 120 (when provided) may be controlled via the dispenser control module 128 (when provided) to apply an ejecting force to the bottle to urge a predetermined amount of fluid to be released from the bottle. The dispensing device 120 thus may be controlled via the dispenser control module 128 to apply the ejecting force to the bottle when (e.g., only when) there is a high probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the eye of the user. If the dispenser control module 128 and the dispensing device 120 are omitted from the device 100, the user may manually apply the ejecting force to the bottle at step 342 once the user is notified that there is a high probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the user’s eye. At step 344, a determination is made whether fluid has been released from the bottle in response to the applied ejecting force from step 342. Fig. 5 provides an example method 560 for accomplishing determination step 344 of the method 334.

[0085] Similarly to the procedures previously described, both the user’s eye and the bottle tip are concurrently illuminated via the illumination source 116 at step 562, and both the user’s eye and the bottle tip are concurrently imaged with the camera 110 to provide at least one image at step 564. The illumination event of step 562 may be the same illumination event of step 450 or a separate illumination event.Similarly, the imaging event of step 564 may be the same imaging event of step 452 or a separate imaging event.

[0086] At step 566, the fluid detection module 130 determines from the at least one image if fluid has been released from the bottle in response to the applied ejecting force. For example, a set of image processing techniques can be applied to the image to locate a reflection of light from the illumination source 116 in the released fluid. Alternatively, the images can be evaluated on a machine learning model trained on previous images or features extracted from images labeled with known outcomes.

[0087] Returning to Fig. 3, if no fluid is detected at step 344, the method 334 returns to step 342, in which the dispensing device 120 is controlled or the user is notified via the feedback device 118 to continue the application of the ejecting force or to increase the amount of ejecting force, and then proceeds to step 344 to once again determine if fluid has been released from the bottle in response to the continued or increased ejecting force.

[0088] Once a released fluid has been detected by the fluid detection module 130, the method 334 advances to step 346, where the dispenser control module 128 responsively causes the dispensing device 120 to cease its application of the ejecting force or the user is notified to cease its application of the ejecting force. The termination of the ejecting force functionally “releases” the bottle from compressive force to permit the bottle to return to an original configuration via elastic deformation recovery, which in turn may allow ambient air (which may be filtered by the device 100) to enter the bottle for pressure-equalization purposes.

[0089] The fluid detection module 130 may also send a signal to the feedback device 118 to notify the user that the drop has been successfully dispensed after the released fluid has been detected.

[0090] The determined probability and / or a time value representing a time at which fluid was released can be stored in a local memory and / or transmitted via the communications device 122 to a remote memory or server to assist with quantifying compliance with a course of care.

[0091] The device 100 may be powered down after the bottle is released, the user has been notified of the successful dispensing event via the feedback device118, and / or the communications device 122 transmits the desired data to the remote memory or server.

[0092] Furthermore, it is contemplated that a pre-ejecting force may be applied to the bottle via the dispensing device 120 (when provided) prior to the probability determination of step 336. In such case, the pre-ejecting force may commence via the user pressing the actuation button, upon the user’s eye entering the camera’s field of view, and / or after the ECU 106 determines, based off one or more images provided by the camera 110, that a cap covering the outlet opening of the bottle has been removed from the bottle. Alternatively, the pre-ejecting force may commence directly following a previous dispensing event. The pre-ejecting force is less than the ejecting force such that the pre-ejecting force is configured to responsively cause a portion of fluid to be urged through the outlet opening and be visible at the bottle tip (while still being connected at least partially to the bottle tip and / or outlet opening), but not such that the fluid is ejected away from the bottle. This pre-ejecting step may be provided to help shorten the time it takes to dispense the predetermined amount of fluid once the probability is determined to be at least equal to the predetermined probability threshold.

[0093] Fig. 14 illustrates an example method 14140 via which the bottle tip may be automatically moved to a position at which the bottle tip is aligned with a target portion of the user’s eye. The method 14140 of Fig. 14 (or any of its individual method steps) may be used in place of or in conjunction with any of the above methods 334, 448, 560 or any of individual method steps of the above methods 334, 448, 560. At step 14142, sensor data from one or more the sensors 102 is acquired. For example, the camera 110 may provide at least one image that includes both the user’s eye and the bottle tip. At step 14144, the alignment module 124 determines whether a position of a target portion of the user’s eye can be determined via the sensor data. If not, the method returns to step 14142 to acquire another round of sensor data. If the position of the target portion of the user’s eye can be determined via the sensor data, the method 14140 moves to step 14146 where the alignment module 124 determ ines / approximates the positional offset between the bottle tip and the target portion in the auto-adjusting direction via the sensor data.

[0094] At step 14148, the ECU 106 (e.g., the alignment module 124 and / or the position control module 126) determines if the bottle tip can be moved in the auto-adjusting direction to reduce the positional offset. If not, the method 14140 returns to step 14142 to acquire another round of sensor data. If the bottle tip can be moved in the auto-adjusting direction to reduce the positional offset, the method proceeds to step 14150. At step 14150, the position control module 126 operates the positioning device 119 to adjust the position of the bottle tip in the auto-adjusting direction to reduce the positional offset in the auto-adjusting direction. The amount of reduction of or in the position offset may be less than or equal to a magnitude of the positional offset.

[0095] While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the example methods of Figs. 3-5 and 14 are shown and described as executing serially, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present examples are not limited by the illustrated order, as some actions could in other examples occur in different orders, multiple times and / or concurrently from that shown and described herein. Moreover, it is not necessary that all described actions be performed to implement a method.

[0096] Figs. 6-9 depict a first example hardware implementation of the device 100 (indicated at reference character 100a in Figs. 6-9) described above. The device 100a may thus include hardware for implementing any one or more of the various functions, methods, and / or device configurations of the device 100 described above. The device 100a may be a part of a fluid delivery system 668 that may also include the bottle 670. The bottle 670 is configured to hold fluid therein and includes a bottle tip 672 having an outlet opening 674. The bottle 670 may be a “standard” or preservative-free eye dropper bottle that is commercially available, such as via prescription or over-the-counter.

[0097] The device 100a includes a housing 676 that defines a receiving mouth 678 configured to selectively receive a portion of the bottle 670. In particular, the receiving mouth 678 is configured such that a portion of the bottle 670 is located within the housing 676 and a portion of the bottle 670 that includes the bottle tip 672 is located outside of the housing 676 when the bottle 670 is inserted in the receiving mouth 678. One of ordinary skill in the art can readily configure a suitable housing 676 for receiving any desired bottle 670, or other source of the fluid to be dispensed, for a particular use environment. When provided, the touch sensor 114 and / or the dedicated electrodes of the touch sensor 114 may be located on the housing 676.

[0098] The housing 676 may include first and second housing portions 676a, 676b. The first and second housing portions 676a, 676b may be integrally formed as a single monolithic piece or may be formed separately from one another and subsequently connected together. Either of the first and second housing portions 676a, 676b may be formed as a single monolithic piece or assembled from separate subcomponents. The first housing portion 676a may have a first printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”) 780 located therein, and the second housing portion 676b may have a second PCBA 782 located therein. The first and second PCBAs 780, 782 may be connected to one another, e.g., via a flexible printed circuit 784 that extends inside the housing 676 between the first and second PCBAs 780, 782. It will be appreciated that the first PCBA 780, the second PCBA 782, and the flexible printed circuit 784 (when provided) can collectively implement all or part of at least one of the sensor(s) 102, the ECU 106 and its modules, and the instrument(s) 104.

[0099] The camera 110 is connected to the second housing portion 676b in a position in which a field of view of the camera 110 encompasses the bottle tip 672 of any bottle maintained within the device 100a. The camera 110 of the device 100a is connected to the second housing portion 676b as a part of the second PCBA 782, though the camera 110 may be connected to the second housing portion 676b separately from the second PCBA 782. A spectral filter 786, such as the spectral filter described above, may also be connected to the second housing portion 676b. As shown in Figs. 7-9, the spectral filter 786 may be associated with the camera 110 and attenuate light outside of a predetermined band of wavelengths, generally centered around a wavelength associated with the illumination source 116 of the device 100a. The illumination source 116 of the device 100a is implemented as first and second IR LEDs 116a, 116b that are connected to the second housing portion 676b as a part of the second PCBA 782. Alternatively, the first and second IR LEDs 116a, 116b may be connected to the second housing portion 676b separately from the second PCBA 782. Regardless of how the first and second IR LEDs 116a, 116b are connected to the second housing portion 676b, the first and second IR LEDs 116a, 116b may be positioned such that the first and second IR LEDS 116a, 116b selectively illuminate each of the bottle tip 672 and the user’s eye with light when in use.

[0100] The feedback device 118 of the device 100a may be implemented as a RGB LED for providing visual feedback to the user, though the feedback device 118 of the device 100a may have any number of RGB LEDs. The RGB LED may be configured such that the intensity, hue, blink frequency, or any other characteristic of the light provided by the RGB LED can be altered to indicate a probability that released fluid will land in the user’s eye and / or the alignment (e.g., the manualadjusting distance) between the bottle tip 672 and the user’s eye. Alternatively or additionally, the RGB LED may be configured to selectively illuminate illuminable areas to indicate this probability and / or this alignment.

[0101] The RGB LED may be connected to the second housing portion 676b as a part of the second PCBA 782. Alternatively, the RGB LED may be connected to the second housing portion 676b separately from the second PCBA 782. Regardless of how the RGB LED is connected to the second housing portion 676b, the RGB LED may be positioned such that their emitted light may be visible to the user when in use in order to appropriately provide the alignment / probability feedback to the user.

[0102] The device 100a may also include a lightguide 788 formed of a transparent, translucent, or semi-translucent material. The lightguide 788 is configured to guide light emitted from the RGB LED through the second housing portion 676b so that the light is visible to the user. When the illuminable areas are provided in the device 100a, the illuminable areas may be included on the lightguide 788. Although the device 100a is shown as only having a visually-based feedback device 118, the device 100a may be configured to alternatively or additionally include features for providing the alignment / probability feedback to the user in an auditory and / or tactile manner.

[0103] As shown in Figs. 6-7, the dispensing device 120 of the device 100a is mounted inside the housing 676 (e.g., in the first housing portion 676a). The dispensing device 120 includes a dispenser motor 790 (e.g., an electric motor) operably connected to a dispenser shaft 792 such that an output of the dispenser motor 790 selectively rotates the dispenser shaft 792 about a rotational axis 794 defined by the dispenser shaft 792. As shown in Fig. 7, the rotational axis 794 of the dispenser shaft 792 extends substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis 796 defined by the bottle 670.

[0104] The dispensing device 120 may include a gearbox 798 interposed between the dispenser motor 790 and the dispenser shaft 792. The gearbox 798, when provided, operably connects the dispenser motor 790 (or the output of the motor 790) to the dispenser shaft 792. The gearbox 798 may include one or more gears and / or other features for providing a predetermined gear reduction ratio between the output of the dispenser motor 790 and the dispenser shaft 792.

[0105] A connector 7100 may be engaged to the dispenser shaft 792 such that selective rotation of the dispenser shaft 792 responsively causes the connector 7100 to move along the dispenser shaft 792. For example, the dispenser shaft 792 may be threaded, and the connector 7100 may be threadably engaged to the threaded dispenser shaft 792 via a threaded opening 7102 that extends through the connector 7100.

[0106] A compression arm 7104 may be operably connected to the connector 7100 such that selective movement of the connector 7100 along the dispenser shaft 792 responsively causes the compression arm 7104 to rotate relative to the housing 676. In particular, the compression arm 7104 has two arm connecting portions 7106 and an arm compressing portion 7108 interconnecting the two arm connecting portions 7106. Although only one arm connecting portion 7106 is shown in Fig. 7, both connecting portions 7106 are identical (or substantially identical). The arm compressing portion 7108 is configured to be located adjacent to the bottle 670 when the bottle 670 is in the housing 676. The force sensor 112, when provided, may be located on the compression arm 7104 (e.g., on the compressing portion 7108) or otherwise located between the bottle 670 and the compression arm 7104 (e.g., between the bottle 670 and the compressing portion 7108).

[0107] Each of the arm compressing portions 7108 includes a pin aperture 7110, extending therethrough. Each pin aperture 7110 may have a pivot pin 7112 of the connector 7100 extending therethrough. The pivot pins 7112 may be engaged to the connector 7100. The pivot pins 7112 may be engaged to the connector 7100 via a threading engagement, via a press-fit or frictional fit engagement, or by being integrally formed with the connector. Such engagement selectively rotationally fixes the pivot pins 7112 to the connector 7100. The pivot pins 7112 thus may define a rotational axis about which the compression arm 7104 may selectively rotate relative to each of the connector 7100 and the housing 676.

[0108] The engagement between the pivot pins 7112 and the connector 7100 may also help secure (and thus, operably and rotatably connect) the compression arm 7104 to the connector 7100. Via this connection and a predetermined amount of clearance between the first housing portion 676a and at least one of the compression arm 7104 and the pivot pins 7112, the connector 7100 may be substantially prevented from rotating about the dispenser shaft’s rotational axis 794. Therefore, when the dispenser shaft 792 is rotated, the connector 7100 travels longitudinally along the dispenser shaft 792 instead of rotating with the dispenser shaft 792 about the dispenser shaft’s rotational axis 794.

[0109] In use, the dispenser control module 128 may selectively operate the dispensing device 120 to apply an ejecting force (or, in certain situations, a preejecting force) to the bottle 670. In particular, when the dispensing of fluid from the bottle 670 is appropriate (e.g., based on user desire and / or the probability that released fluid will land in the user’s eye), the dispenser control module 128 actuates the dispenser motor 790 to rotate the dispenser shaft 792 in a first rotational direction about the dispenser shaft’s rotational axis 794. The rotating dispenser shaft 792 responsively causes the connector 7100 to travel in a first translational direction along the dispenser shaft 792 toward the gearbox 798. The moving connector 7100 responsively urges the compression arm 7104 in the first translational direction. Contact between the compression arm 7104 and the gearbox 798 responsively urges the compression arm 7104 to rotate in a compression direction about the pivot pins 7112. In particular, the arm connecting portions 7106 may be substantially arcuate, and thus the contact between the gearbox 798 and the arcuate arm connecting portions 7106 responsively urges the compression arm 7104 to rotate about the pivot pins 7112. The rotating compression arm 7104 applies an ejecting force to the bottle 670 (e.g., via the arm compressing portion 7108) that compresses the bottle 670 and urges fluid from the bottle 670 out through the outlet opening 674.

[0110] Once the fluid detection module 130 determines that fluid (e.g., a predetermined amount of fluid) has been released, the dispenser control module 128 (upon receiving the appropriate signal from the fluid detection module 130) may responsively cause the dispensing device 120 to terminate its application of ejecting force. In particular, after the fluid release has been detected, the dispenser controlmodule 128 may cause the dispenser motor 790 to rotate the dispenser shaft 792 in a second rotational direction, opposite the first rotational direction, about the dispenser shaft’s rotational axis 794. The connector 7100 thus is responsively caused to travel in a second translational direction, opposite the first translational direction, along the dispenser shaft 792. The compression arm 7104 is responsively pulled in the second translational direction by the connector 7100. The compression arm 7104 rotates in a decompression direction, opposite the compression direction, as the compression arm 7104 is pulled in the second translational direction, which responsively reduces and / or substantially terminates its application of ejecting force to the bottle 670. The bottle 670 (via its innate resiliency, for example) may responsively return to an original uncompressed state upon termination of the ejecting force, drawing in air as it does so for pressure equalization purposes. It is contemplated that a cam, follower arm, or other structure (not shown) may be provided to permit the connector 7100 to travel in the second translational direction even as the dispenser shaft 792 continues to rotate further in the first rotational direction; one of ordinary skill in the art can readily configure a mechanical linkage as desired for a particular use environment.

[0111] Although dispensing device 120 has been shown and described as having a particular compression arm 7104 and particular features for driving the compression arm 7104 into / away from the bottle 670 in response to actuation of the dispenser motor 790, the dispensing device 120 may be configured to include any suitable compression arm 7104 and / or any other suitable feature(s) drivable by the dispenser motor 790 to com press / decom press the bottle 670 in any suitable manner. For example, the dispensing device 120 may have any suitable structural geometry for the compression arm 7104, any number of suitable intermediate features for connecting the compression arm 7104 to the motor 790, any suitably designed direction / path via which the compression arm 7104 travels when compressing / decompressing the bottle 670, etc. as long as the compression arm 7104 can be driven via the motor to com press / decom press the bottle 670 as desired.

[0112] As shown in Figs. 6-7, the positioning device 119 of the device 100a is mounted inside the housing 676 (e.g., in the first housing portion 676a). The positioning device 119 includes at least one positioning motor 7114 (e.g., an electric motor) and one or more features configured to automatically adjust / move the bottle670 (and, accordingly, the bottle tip 672) along or about a single movement axis 7116 in an auto-adjusting direction. In the example configuration shown in Figs. 6-7, the positioning device 119 includes two positioning shafts 7118 (only one shown), each having a first end operably connected to a positioning motor 7114 (only one shown) such that outputs of the positioning motors 7114 selectively rotate the positioning shafts 7118 about the movement axis 7116 defined by both positioning shafts 7118. The movement axis 7116 extends substantially in a lateral direction perpendicular to the both the longitudinal axis 796 of the bottle 670 and the autoadjusting direction. The movement axis 7116 may be positioned such that the movement axis is at a center of mass of the bottle 670 and / or the device 100a.

[0113] A second end of each positioning shaft 7118 may be rotationally fixed to a holding member 7120, while the first ends of the positioning shafts 7118 may be rotatable relative to their respective positioning motors 7114. The positioning motors 7114 may be mounted in the housing 676 (e.g., in the first housing portion 676a) in a fixed manner such that fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114 (i.e., motor housings of the positioning motors) do not rotate or otherwise move relative to the housing 676. Therefore, the holding members 7120 are configured to rotate with the positioning shafts 7118 relative to each of the housing 676 and the fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114 in response to the outputs of the positioning motors 7114. As shown in Figs. 6-7, the holding members 7120 may be positioned on opposite sides of the housing 676.

[0114] Although the holding members 7120 are shown as being circular plates or substantially rounded plates, at least one of the holding members 7120 may be a plate of any other desired shape or may have any other desired configuration.Further, instead of, or in addition to, the RGB LED described above, the feedback device 118 may be implemented as or include one or more RGB LEDs in or adjacent to at least one of the holding members 7120. Therefore, at least one of the holding members 7120 (and, optionally, at least one of the positioning shafts 7118) may function as a lightguide and be configured to guide light emitted from the one or more RGB LED(s) through the housing 676 so that the light is visible to the user. In such a configuration, any holding member 7120 (and, optionally, any positioning shaft 7118) functioning as a lightguide may be at least partially formed of a transparent, translucent, or semi-translucent material.

[0115] In use, the position control module 126 may selectively operate the positioning device 119 to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 relative to the user’s eye in the auto-adjusting direction. In particular, the user may hold the device 100a via the holding members 7120. For example, the user my “grip” or “clamp” the device between their thumb, which is on one of the holding members 7120, and a second finger, which is on the other of the holding members 7120. The user may then bring the device 100a toward their eye and align the device 100a such that the bottle tip is adjacent their eye. When a target portion of the user’s eye is the eye's center, the user may, for example, align the device 100a relative to their eye such that the movement axis 7116 is parallel (or substantially parallel) to the eye’s horizontal meridian HM and the bottle tip 672 is aligned with the target portion in the manual-adjusting direction. The device 100a may help guide the user to such alignment via the alignment module 124 and the feedback device 118 in the manner described above.

[0116] If the alignment module 124 determines that the bottle tip 672 is not aligned with the target portion of the user’s eye in the auto-adjusting direction (and / or determines that the probability that fluid released from the bottle 670 would land in the user’s eye is low), the alignment module 124 may send a signal to the position control module 126 indicating the misalignment (e.g., the offset) between the bottle tip 672 and the target portion in the auto-adjusting direction. The position control module 126, receiving this determined misalignment, may operate / control the positioning device 119 to rotate the bottle tip 672 into alignment with the target portion. In particular, the position control module 126 may actuate the positioning motors 7114 to urge the positioning shafts 7118 and the holding members 7120 to rotate about the movement axis 7116. However, because the holding members 7120 are held firmly between two of the user’s fingers, the holding members 7120 and the positioning shafts 7118 are prevented from rotating about the movement axis 7116 relative to the user’s hand. The outputs of the actuated positioning motors 7114 thus instead cause the fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114 and the housing 676 to rotate about the movement axis 7116 relative to the positioning shafts 7118 and the holding members 7120. The bottle 670, being fixed to the housing 676, rotates with the housing 676 about the movement axis 7116 until the bottle tip 672 is aligned with the target portion in the auto-adjusting direction.Because the camera 110 (which is fixed to the housing 676) and the bottle tip 672 rotate with one another, the bottle tip’s position in the camera’s field of view remains constant during use.

[0117] Once the alignment module 124 determines that the bottle tip 672 is aligned with the target portion in the auto-adjusting direction and there is a high probability that fluid released from the bottle 670 will land in the user’s eye, the alignment module 124 may send a signal indicating this alignment to the position control module 126 so that the position control module 126 may cause the positioning device 119 to cease its rotation of the bottle / bottle tip 670 / 672.

[0118] Although the positioning shafts 7118 have been described as being rotationally fixed to the holding members 7120 instead of to the fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114, the opposite is also possible. Furthermore, although each holding member 7120 is operably connected to a separate positioning motor 7114, the positioning device 119 may include only one positioning motor 7114 that is operable connected to each of the holding members 7120. Regardless of the number of positioning motors 7114, the device 100a may be configured such that each holding member 7120 may be urged to rotate independent of the other holding member 7120. Therefore, while the holding members 7120 are generally configured to rotate together (i.e. , at the same time) and at the same rate, one holding member 7120 can be urged to rotate at a different rate than or instead of the other holding member 7120 by adjusting the output received by each holding member 7120 when the device 100a is configured to permit such independent and relative rotation. This independent control may result in a position of the device 100a in the user’s hand being adjusted in a manual-adjusting direction (e.g., the lateral direction) such that at least the bottle tip 672 (and, accordingly at least a portion of the device 100a) is urged in the manual-adjusting direction. Therefore, although the positioning device 119 is generally only configured to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 in the autoadjusting direction by rotating the bottle tip 672 about the movement axis relative to the holding members 7120, this independent control operation may grant the positioning device 119 at least some ability to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 in a manual-adjusting direction (e.g., the lateral direction) using the user’s fingers as linkages for achieving movement in the manual-adjusting direction.

[0119] The receiving mouth 678 of the housing 676 may be configured to selectively receive a bottle 670 having a predetermined exterior diameter. The predetermined sized bottle 670 may be selectively retained in the receiving mouth 678 via a press-fit or frictional engagement. The receiving mouth 678, however, may still be able to receive and retain bottles 670 having exterior diameters that are smaller (e.g., substantially smaller) than the predetermined exterior diameter via the use of a bottle adapter 7122. The bottle adapter 7122 may an at least partially cylindrical sleeve that may be selectively received in the housing 676 prior to insertion of the smaller bottle 670, though the bottle adapter 7122 may be selectively coupled to the smaller bottle 670 and inserted into the receiving mouth 678 together with the smaller bottle 670 as a single unit. A bottle adapter 7122--which can be used with any embodiment or implementation of the device 100--may be configured to occupy space that would have otherwise been interposed between the housing 676 and the smaller bottle 670 in the receiving mouth 678.

[0120] The smaller bottle 670 may be retained in the bottle adapter 7122 via a press-fit or frictional engagement. The bottle adapter 7122 may be selectively retained in the receiving mouth 678 via a press-fit or frictional engagement, and / or via one or more features configured to selectively lock the bottle adapter in the receiving mouth 678. Therefore, via the bottle adapter 7122, the smaller bottle 670 may be selectively retained in the receiving mouth 678.

[0121] Although the holding members 7120 of the device 100a shown in Fig 6. do not extend beyond the housing 676, the holding members 7120 may be enlarged such that they extend beyond the housing 676 in at least one dimension (e.g., the auto-adjusting dimension), as is shown in Fig. 10.

[0122] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 11 , the holding members 7120 may be interconnected via an intermediate portion 11124 that extends laterally between the two holding members 7120. The holding members 7120 and the intermediate portion 11124 may form a cover 11126 that has a cavity 11128 in which a substantial portion of the housing 676 is received. The cover 11126 may include an opening 11130 to the cavity 11128. A portion of the housing 676 (e.g. , at least the portion of the housing 676 that includes the camera 110 and the IR LEDs 116a, 116b) and a portion the bottle 670 may extend through the opening 11130 such that the bottle tip 672 is located outside the cavity 11128. In a similar manner as described above, thehousing 676 and the bottle 670 may rotate in the auto-adjusting direction relative to the holding members 7120 (and, accordingly, to the cover as a whole) upon actuation of the positioning motor(s) 7114. Therefore, a predetermined length of the opening may be selected to define the maximum distance the bottle tip 672 can rotate in either direction about the movement axis 7116.

[0123] Although the device 100a has been described as automatically dispensing fluid via the dispenser control module 128 and the dispenser device 118, the device 100a may be configured for a manual dispensing of the fluid. In such cases, the dispenser control module 128 and the dispenser device 118 may be omitted and the user may manually apply the ejecting force to the bottle 670. At least one of the holding members 7120 of this manual fluid dispensing device 100a may be at least partially moveable in the lateral direction relative to the bottle 670 and the housing 676 to cause the manual application of the ejecting force. For example, the user may move both holding members 7120 toward one another to drive the attached positioning shafts 7118 (or another element operatively connected to the holding members 7120) into the bottle 670 to squeeze the bottle 670 and responsively cause the ejection of fluid. The bottle 670 (via its innate resiliency, for example) may responsively return to an original uncompressed state upon termination of the manual ejecting force, drawing in air as it does so for pressure equalization purposes.

[0124] Fig. 15 schematically illustrates an alternative configuration of the positioning device 119 of the device 100a of Figs. 6-7. Similarly to the positioning device 119 of the device 100a of Figs. 6-7, the positioning device 119 of Fig. 15 includes at least one positioning motor 7114 (e.g., an electric motor) and one or more features configured to automatically adjust / move the bottle 670 (and, accordingly, the bottle tip 672) about a single movement axis 7116 in the autoadjusting direction. In the example configuration shown in Fig. 15, the positioning device 119 includes two positioning shafts 7118 (only one shown), each having a first end rotatably mounted to the housing 676 such that the positioning shafts 7118 and the housing 676 are rotatable relative to one another. The first end of the positioning shafts 7118 may be rotatably mounted to the housing via one or more bearings, flanges, nuts, and / or any other feature suitable for connecting the positioning shafts 7118 to the housing 676 in such a manner that permits suchrelative rotation. A second end of each positioning shaft 7118 may be rotationally fixed to an associated holding member 7120 (only one show) such that the positioning shafts 7118 define the movement axis 7116 about which each of the positioning shafts and the holding members 7120 are urged to rotate.

[0125] The positioning device 119 of Fig. 15 may also include two positioning motors 7114 (only one shown). The positioning motors 7114 may be mounted in the housing 676 (e.g., in the first housing portion 676a) in a fixed manner such that fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114 (i.e. , motor housings of the positioning motors) do not rotate or otherwise move relative to the housing 676. Each of the positioning motors may also include an output shaft 15152 having a toothed portion 15154. The toothed portions 15154 are each meshingly engaged to a toothed portion 15158 of an associated holding member 7120.

[0126] The output shafts 15152 are configured such that the output of the positioning motors 7114 selectively rotate the output shafts 15152 about associated rotational axes 15156 (only one shown). The rotation of the output shafts 15152 urges the holding members 7120 (and, accordingly, the positioning shafts 7118) to rotate about the single movement axis 7116 via the toothed engagement between the toothed portions 15154, 15158 of the output shafts 15152 and the holding members 7120. Therefore, when the holding members 7120 are not held firmly between two of the user’s fingers, the holding members 7120 rotate with the positioning shafts 7118 relative to each of the housing 676 and the fixed portions 7114a of the positioning motors 7114 in response to the outputs of the positioning motors 7114.

[0127] The positioning motors 7114 are spaced from the single movement axis 7116. In other words, unlike the positioning motors 7114 of the device 100a of Figs. 6-7, the positioning motors 7114 of the positioning device 119 of Fig. 15 do not lie on the single movement axis. Such an arrangement may result in a reduction in the overall lateral thickness of the device 100a.

[0128] Although the positioning device 119 of Fig. 15 has been described as having two positioning motors 7114, the positioning device 119 of Fig. 15 may include only one positioning motor 7114. The toothed portion 15154 of the output shaft 15152 of this single positioning motor 7114 may be engaged to the toothedportion 15158 of each holding member 7120. Furthermore, although the positioning shafts 7118 are rotationally fixed to the holding members 7120 and rotatably mounted to the housing 676, the positioning shafts 7118 may be rotationally fixed to the housing 676 and rotatably mounted to the holding members 7120 such that the holding members 7120 are selectively urged to rotate relative to the positioning shafts 7118.

[0129] Fig. 12 depicts a second example hardware implementation of the device 100 (indicated at reference character 100b in Fig. 12) described above. The device 100b thus may include hardware for implementing any one or more of the various functions, methods, and / or device configurations of the device 100 described above. The device 100b of the second example hardware configuration may be substantially similar to the device 100a of the first example hardware configuration. Therefore, structures of the device 100b of Fig. 12 that are the same as or similar to those described with reference the device 100a of Figs. 6-9 are either unnumbered or have the same reference numbers.

[0130] Instead of having the bottle 670 and the housing 676 pivot about the movement axis 7116 to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 in the auto-adjusting direction, the bottle 670 and the housing 676 of the device 100b move along the single movement axis 7116 relative to the holding members 7120 to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 in the auto-adjusting direction when in use. For example, as shown in Fig. 12, the holding members 7120 may each include a track 12132 that defines the movement axis 7116 that extends in the auto-adjusting direction. The second ends 12134 of the positioning shafts 7118 may be connected to the tracks 12132 in such a manner that rotation of the positioning shafts 7118 relative to the tracks 12132 (and, accordingly the holding members 7120) urges holding members 7120 to move in the auto-adjusting direction along the movement axis 7116 relative to the bottle 670 and the housing 676.

[0131] The second ends 12134 of the positioning shafts 7118 may, for example, have teeth that mesh with corresponding teeth of the tracks 12132. Therefore, actuation of the positioning motors 7114 may cause the positioning shafts 7118 and their toothed second ends 12134 to rotate relative to the toothed tracks 12132. The meshing engagement between the rotating toothed second ends 12134 and the toothed tracks 12132 responsively urges the holding members 7120 to move alongthe movement axis 7116 relative to each of the positioning shafts 7118, the positioning motors 7114, the housing 676, and the bottle 670. However, because the holding members 7120 are held firmly between two of the user’s fingers in use, the holding members 7120 are prevented from moving along the movement axis 7116. The rotating second ends 12134 thus instead causes the housing 676 (via the positioning shafts 7118 and the positioning motors 7114) to move in the autoadjusting direction along the movement axis 7116 relative to the holding members 7120. The bottle 670, being fixed to the housing 676, moves with the housing 676 along the movement axis 7116 until the bottle tip 672 is aligned with a target portion in the auto-adjusting direction. Because the camera 110 (which is fixed to the housing 676) and the bottle tip 672 move with one another, the bottle tip’s position in the camera’s field of view remains constant during use.

[0132] Fig. 13 schematically illustrates an alternative configuration of the device 100b of Fig. 12, where, instead of having a straight movement axis 7116 and tracks 12132, the tracks 12132 and movement axis 7116 are arcuate. Furthermore, the holding member 7120 of the device 100b shown in Fig. 13 includes a palm portion 13136 that is held in the user’s palm during use of the device 100b and two arcuate track arms 13138 on which the arcuate tracks 12132 are provided. The arcuate track arms 13138 may be connected to the palm portion 13136 in such a manner that the track arms 13138 and the palm portion 13136 do not rotate relative to one another. Therefore, in use, the arcuate tracks 12132 and movement axis 7116 result in a pivoting movement of the housing 676 and the bottle 670 relative to the holding member 7120 to adjust the position of the bottle tip 672 in the auto-adjusting direction. The holding member 7120 configuration of Fig. 13 may leave a portion of the bottle 670 exposed to the user so that the user may manually apply the ejecting force directly to the bottle 670 via their fingers as desired.

[0133] Although certain features have only been shown and described in regard to one example hardware implementation of the device 100, it should be appreciated that each feature of one of the example hardware configurations may be imported into any other example hardware configuration.

[0134] While aspects of this disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the example aspects above, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various additional aspects may be contemplated.For example, the specific methods described above for using the apparatus are merely illustrative; one of ordinary skill in the art could readily determine any number of tools, sequences of steps, or other means / options for placing the above-described apparatus, or components thereof, into positions substantively similar to those shown and described herein. In an effort to maintain clarity in the Figures, certain duplicative components shown have not been specifically numbered, but one of ordinary skill in the art will realize, based upon the components that were numbered, the element numbers which should be associated with the unnumbered components; no differentiation between similar components is intended or implied solely by the presence or absence of an element number in the Figures. Any of the described structures and components could be integrally formed as a single unitary or monolithic piece or made up of separate sub-components, with either of these formations involving any suitable stock or bespoke components and / or any suitable material or combinations of materials. Any of the described structures and components could be disposable or reusable as desired for a particular use environment. Any component could be provided with a user-perceptible marking to indicate a material, configuration, at least one dimension, or the like pertaining to that component, the user-perceptible marking potentially aiding a user in selecting one component from an array of similar components for a particular use environment. A “predetermined” status may be determined at any time before the structures being manipulated actually reach that status, the “predetermination” being made as late as immediately before the structure achieves the predetermined status. The term “substantially” is used herein to indicate a quality that is largely, but not necessarily wholly, that which is specified--a “substantial” quality admits of the potential for some relatively minor inclusion of a non-quality item. Though certain components described herein are shown as having specific geometric shapes, all structures of this disclosure may have any suitable shapes, sizes, configurations, relative relationships, cross-sectional areas, or any other physical characteristics as desirable for a particular application. Any structures or features described with reference to one aspect or configuration could be provided, singly or in combination with other structures or features, to any other aspect or configuration, as it would be impractical to describe each of the aspects and configurations discussed herein as having all of the options discussed with respect to all of the other aspects and configurations. A device or method incorporating any of these features should beunderstood to fall under the scope of this disclosure as determined based upon the claims below and any equivalents thereof.

[0135] Other aspects, objects, and advantages may be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:1 . A fluid delivery device for delivering fluid to an eye of a user from a bottle having a bottle tip with an outlet opening through which the fluid is selectively released, the fluid delivery device comprising: a housing for selectively receiving the bottle in moveably fixed manner; and a positioning device in the housing, the positioning device includes at least one motor having a fixed portion moveably fixed to the housing, and at least one holding member via which the fluid delivery device is held by the user, the at least one holding member being operably connected to the motor such that actuation of the motor urges the holding member to move about or along a single movement axis relative to the housing, the at least one holding member being prevented from moving relative to the user’s hand when held so that the actuation of the motor responsively causes the housing and the bottle to move about or along the single movement axis relative to the at least one holding member, movement of the bottle about or along the single movement axis adjusting an alignment of the bottle tip relative to a target portion of the user’s eye.

2. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a camera connected to the housing in a position in which the eye of the user is imageable via the camera, a position of the target portion being determined responsive to at least one image captured by the camera.

3. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a camera connected to the housing in a position in which both an eye of the user and the bottle tip are concurrently imageable via the camera, the alignment between the bottle tip and the target portion being determined responsive to at least one image captured by the camera.

4. The fluid delivery device of claim 3, wherein the housing and the bottle move in an auto-adjusting direction relative to the at least one holding member as the housing and the bottle move about or along the single movement axis, the determined alignment including an offset of the bottle tip relative to the target portion of the user’s eye in an auto-adjusting direction, movement of the bottle about or along the single movement axis via the positioning device adjusting the offset between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye in the auto-adjusting direction.

5. The fluid delivery device of claim 4, wherein the determined alignment further includes an offset of the bottle tip relative to the target portion of the user’s eye in a manual-adjusting direction, the manual-adjusting direction being substantially perpendicular to the auto-adjusting direction, the fluid delivery device further comprising a feedback device for providing at least one of an audible, a visible, a haptic, and a tactile signal to the user representing the offset between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye in the manual-adjusting direction.

6. The fluid delivery device of claim 5, wherein the feedback device is configured to at least partially help the user align the fluid delivery device relative to the eye of the user such that the bottle tip is aligned with a vertical meridian of the user’s eye, the movement of the bottle about or along the single movement axis adjusting a position of the bottle tip along the vertical meridian of the user’s eye.

7. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a camera connected to the housing in a position in which both an eye of the user and an area proximate the outlet opening of the bottle are concurrently imageable via the camera, a probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the eye of the user being determined responsive to at least one image captured by the camera, the probability changing as the alignment between the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye is adjusted via the positioning device.

8. The fluid delivery device of claim 7, further comprising a feedback device for providing at least one of an audible, a visible, a haptic, and a tactile signal to theuser representing the probability that the fluid released from the bottle will land in the eye of the user.

9. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the housing and the bottle rotate about the single movement axis relative to the at least one holding member to adjust the alignment of the bottle tip relative to a target portion of the user’s eye.

10. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the housing and the bottle move along the single movement axis relative to the at least one holding member to adjust the alignment of the bottle tip relative to a target portion of the user’s eye.11 . The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one holding member does not extend beyond the housing.

12. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one holding member extends beyond the housing in at least one dimension.

13. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one holding member comprises two holding members, the two holding members being interconnected via an intermediate portion that extends laterally between the two holding members, the holding members and the intermediate portion collectively forming a cover that has a cavity in which a substantial portion of the housing is received.

14. The fluid delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one holding member comprises two holding members.

15. The fluid delivery device of claim 14, wherein fluid delivery device is configured such that the two holding members are selectively urged to rotate about the single movement axis at the same time and rate.

16. The fluid delivery device of claim 14, wherein the fluid delivery device is configured such that each of the two holding members is selectively urged to rotateabout the single movement axis independent of the other holding member, one of the two holding members being selectively urged to rotate about the single movement axis at a different rate than or instead of the other holding member.

17. The fluid delivery device of claim 14, wherein when one of the two holding members is selectively urged to rotate about the single movement axis at a different rate than or instead of the other holding member, a position of the fluid delivery device in a hand of the user may be adjusted in a manual-adjusting direction, the manual adjusting direction being coextensive with the single movement axis.

18. A fluid delivery system, comprising: the fluid delivery device of claim 1 ; and the bottle selectively receivable in the housing, the bottle being configured to hold a fluid therein, the bottle having the bottle tip with the outlet opening.

19. A method comprising: providing the fluid delivery device of claim 1 , the fluid delivery device further comprising a camera; concurrently imaging both of the eye of the user and an area proximate the outlet opening with the camera to provide at least one image; determining whether the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye are misaligned responsive to the at least one image; when it is determined that the bottle tip and the target portion of the user’s eye are misaligned, moving the bottle about or along the single movement axis relative to the at least one holding member via the positioning device until the bottle tip is aligned with the target portion; and applying an ejecting force to the bottle to urge the bottle to release fluid from the bottle when the bottle tip is determined to be aligned with the target portion.

Images