Door-Handle Sanitizer Assembly With Spill-Safe Event Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hand sanitizer dispensers are inefficiently positioned, prone to spillage, and lack durability, and they fail to effectively track hand sanitization rates and user behavior, limiting their effectiveness in reducing infections in workplaces.
Innovation Solution
A door-mounted hand sanitization device with a cartridge and actuatable pump, equipped with sensors and a user interface system, that automatically dispenses sanitizer when a user's hand is detected, preventing spillage and providing data on sanitization events and user behavior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the hand sanitizer dispenser is mounted on a wall away from the door handle, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the accessibility and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the hand sanitizer dispenser with the door handle assembly, integrating two previously separate functions (door operation and sanitizer dispensing) into a single unified device. This merging allows the dispenser to be positioned exactly where the user's hand naturally interacts with the door, maximizing accessibility while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The door handle assembly is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the door operating mechanism and the hand sanitizer dispenser. The handle structure incorporates a reservoir, pump mechanism, and dispensing nozzle, allowing it to perform door function while also providing sanitization, thereby improving ease of operation without requiring a separate wall-mounted dispenser.
2Productivity
If the sanitizer is dispensed automatically when gripping the handle, then the productivity and hand sanitization rate improve, but spillage and harmful factors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing mechanism is designed to release sanitizer locally and precisely onto the user's hand surface rather than spraying broadly. The nozzle is positioned to direct the sanitizer flow onto the palm or fingers, and the pump mechanism controls the dispensing rate to match the user's gripping action, minimizing overflow and spillage while maintaining high sanitization effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the user's natural action of gripping the door handle as the trigger mechanism for sanitizer dispensing. When the user's hand contacts the handle, this action automatically activates the pump to dispense sanitizer onto the hand. The user's own gripping motion serves as both the door operation and the dispensing trigger, eliminating the need for separate buttons or sensors while preventing spillage through controlled, demand-based dispensing.
3Manufacturing precision
If the handle is modified to prescribe an unnatural grip position, then the sanitizer can be dispensed into the palm effectively, but the ease of operation and user comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring the user to change their grip position to an unnatural orientation, the patent inverts the approach by positioning the dispensing nozzle and reservoir to work with the user's natural hand orientation. The sanitizer is dispensed onto the back of the hand or fingers when the user grips the handle in the conventional manner, eliminating the need for unnatural grip positions while still achieving effective sanitizer application.
4Adaptability or versatility
If various types of doors and handles are accommodated, then the adaptability improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal door handle assembly that can be installed on various types of doors and handles while maintaining the same integrated sanitizer dispensing functionality. The handle structure incorporates standardized mounting mechanisms and a modular reservoir-pump-nozzle assembly that can be adapted to different door configurations without requiring complex custom manufacturing for each door type, thereby achieving high adaptability with controlled manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods for promoting hand sanitization which may be mounted above or near a door handle. Hand sanitization devices include a sanitizer agent cartridge disposed inside a housing body and fluidically coupled to an actuating pump. The pump is configured to dispense the sanitizer when an actuation mechanism is pushed or pulled. The cartridge is also coupled to a pump sheath disposed below the pump so as to protect the internal components of the devices from unintentional splashing by the sanitizer agent. The hand sanitization devices may also record when the door is opened, when the sanitizer is dispensed, if the cartridge is empty, and when a user is approaching the door. The hand sanitization devices also have a user interface system configured to encourage the approaching user to sanitize their hands.