Flexible Dispenser Mounting for Stable Multi-Orientation Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hand hygiene dispenser mounting systems face challenges in providing flexible and convenient mounting options across various environments and surfaces, often struggling to maintain orientation and stability, particularly in healthcare and food service settings where pathogen transmission reduction is critical.
Innovation Solution
A product dispenser mounting system featuring a dispenser holder with a releasable connection mechanism and a mounting apparatus that includes a mounting bracket or clamp, allowing attachment in multiple orientations using a shape-complementary attachment post and latch system, ensuring secure and adjustable mounting on diverse support objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed mounting system is used for hand hygiene dispensers, then the mounting is simple and stable, but the adaptability to different environments and surfaces is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is designed to accommodate multiple mounting surfaces and orientations through a universal interface. The dispenser holder includes a back plate with a receptacle that can receive attachment posts mounted in various orientations (horizontal, vertical, angled) on different surfaces (walls, counters, shelves), allowing the same holder design to be universally mounted across diverse environments without requiring multiple specialized mounting solutions.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements. The attachment post can be mounted at different orientations, and the dispenser holder can be attached in multiple orientations relative to the support surface. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to respond to different installation requirements while maintaining a relatively simple basic structure.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a simple mounting mechanism is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to maintain orientation and stability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The connection mechanism uses asymmetric complementary shapes between the attachment post and the receptacle. The attachment post has a specific cross-sectional shape that corresponds to the receptacle's internal geometry, providing positive engagement that prevents rotation and maintains a fixed orientation. This asymmetric design ensures stable, orientation-specific mounting without requiring complex locking mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mounting orientations are enabled, then the versatility is improved, but the difficulty of maintaining precise orientation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric complementary shapes of the attachment post and receptacle provide inherent orientation precision. The specific geometric relationship between the post's cross-section and the receptacle's internal geometry ensures that when engaged, the dispenser holder is held at a precise, predetermined orientation relative to the attachment post, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures.
4Ease of operation
If a permanent fixed mounting is used, then the stability is maximized, but the ease of repositioning and adjustment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into separable components: the attachment post mounted on the support surface, and the dispenser holder with the receptacle that attaches to the post. This segmentation allows the dispenser holder to be easily detached and repositioned by simply removing it from the attachment post, while the attachment post remains permanently or semi-permanently mounted on the support surface, maintaining mounting strength when assembled.
Data Source
AI summary
A product dispenser mounting system includes a dispenser holder body configured to support a product dispenser; and a mounting apparatus configured to fixedly mount on a support object and to removably connect to the dispenser holder body in one or more orientations such that dispenser holder body is maintained in a selected one of the one or more orientations when the dispenser holder body is connected to the mounting apparatus. The system may also include at least one actuation sensor configured to detect actuation of the product dispenser.