Removable Hygiene Compliance Module for Nozzle Actuation Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hygiene compliance monitoring systems require costly, permanently-installed dispensers and specialized training, limiting their widespread use and compliance with hand-washing standards, especially in portable and disposable dispensing containers.
Innovation Solution
A removable point-of-care hygiene compliance module with a housing, pivotable actuation arm, switch, controller, memory unit, and display that attaches to dispensing containers, tracking the number of actuations and allowing remote data transfer, enabling low-cost, user-friendly monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If permanently-installed dispensers are used for hygiene compliance monitoring, then monitoring reliability is improved, but device cost and installation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hygiene compliance monitoring system is divided into separate modular components: a compliance module that can be removably attached to various dispensing containers, rather than requiring a single permanently-installed dispenser. This segmentation allows the monitoring functionality to be decoupled from the dispensing function, reducing installation complexity while maintaining monitoring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
An actuator arm serves as an intermediary mechanical element that couples the user's actuation of the dispensing nozzle to the switch that triggers the compliance monitoring. This intermediary mechanism reliably detects dispensing events without requiring complex electronic sensors or permanently-installed infrastructure.
2Reliability
If permanently-installed dispensers are used for hygiene compliance monitoring, then monitoring reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compliance module is designed to be compatible with disposable or refillable dispensing containers, allowing the entire assembly to be inexpensive and replaceable. This approach eliminates the need for costly permanently-installed dispensers while maintaining monitoring functionality through simpler, more affordable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuation arm is designed to be automatically actuated by the user's own action of pressing the dispensing nozzle, without requiring separate power sources, complex electronics, or professional installation. The system serves itself by using the existing mechanical actuation of the dispenser as the triggering mechanism for compliance monitoring.
3Measurement precision
If specialized training is required for administering hygiene compliance monitoring, then monitoring precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The compliance module automatically tracks and records dispensing events without requiring user intervention or training. The actuator arm passively detects each actuation of the dispensing nozzle and triggers the switch, which updates the count in memory and displays it, eliminating the need for specialized administrative training while maintaining precise compliance tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate visual feedback through a display that shows the compliance count, allowing users to understand their hygiene compliance status without requiring training to interpret complex data. This simple feedback mechanism makes the system easy to operate while maintaining measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A point-of-care hygiene compliance module includes a housing that is adapted to be attached to a dispensing container that dispenses material through a dispensing nozzle when actuated. The housing includes a pivoting actuation arm that is configured so as to be placed in operative contact with the dispensing nozzle. Thus, when the actuation arm is actuated, material is dispensed from the dispensing container, and a switch in operative contact with the actuation arm is actuated. The triggering of the switch updates a count value that is maintained by a controller, which may then be displayed or acquired by a remote computer to assess the amount of usage of the dispensing container.