Interactive display device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Touchless hand cleaning devices can be difficult for users unfamiliar with their operation, leading to contamination and increased risk of infectious disease spread, particularly for those accustomed to manual controls.
Innovation Solution
An interactive mirror displayed device that incorporates a touchlessly operated fluid dispenser with visual cues, such as icons and animated graphics, to assist users in selecting fluids and operating the device, along with a light guide to direct hand placement, providing intuitive feedback and reducing the need for physical contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If touchless operation is implemented to avoid contamination, then hygiene is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates for unfamiliar users
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time visual feedback through an electronic display that shows icons representing different fluid options and animated graphics demonstrating hand gestures. This feedback loop helps users understand how to operate the touchless device without direct contact, resolving the contradiction by making the invisible touchless interface visible and intuitive.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary light guide that provides a visual path from the selected icon to the dispenser outlet. This light guide acts as a mediator between the user's visual selection and the physical dispensing location, helping users understand where to place their hands without touching the device, thus maintaining hygiene while improving ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If visual cues are added to assist operation, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mirror surface serves multiple functions: it acts as both a traditional reflective mirror and as a display surface for the electronic visual cues. This multi-functionality allows the system to provide intuitive guidance without adding separate visual display devices, thereby improving ease of operation while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the existing mirror infrastructure to display visual cues, effectively making the mirror serve its own instructional function. By leveraging the mirror's inherent presence in the bathroom environment, the system provides self-service visual guidance without requiring additional complex display hardware.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple functions are integrated in one device, then space efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the mirror, electronic display, fluid dispensing mechanisms, and sensor systems into a single integrated unit. This merging of functions into one device achieves space efficiency by consolidating multiple bathroom fixtures into one unit, while the use of the mirror as the display surface helps manage the complexity that would otherwise require separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the hand cleaning experience by allowing users to operate touchless devices intuitively, reducing contamination risk and improving accessibility for those unfamiliar with the equipment.
Implementation Method 1
an optical mirror, in particular a one-way mirror
Implementation Method 2
The light guide may, for example, comprise one or more LED lights arranged between the mirror and the dispenser outlet
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention provides a bathroom fixture in the form of an electronic mirror with a touchlessly operated fluid dispenser. The device provides visual cues to assist in the touchless operation thereof.