Palm Reader Dispenser for Contactless Hygiene Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hand cleaner dispensers lack effective monitoring of hand hygiene compliance and biometric authentication, as they often require contact or are susceptible to contamination, and there is a need for a system to screen for fever without a simple, reliable method.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser that uses a palm reader and infrared thermometer to authenticate users and measure hand temperature without contact, ensuring fluid dispensing only when a valid palm is detected and temperature is within a safe range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fingerprint reader bed is contacted by the user's finger or thumb for authentication, then biometric authentication is achieved, but the fingerprint reader bed becomes contaminated and may transfer contamination to subsequent users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an optical scanner as an intermediary device that reads palm vein patterns through non-contact means. The optical scanner captures images of the palm without physical contact, using light to detect vein patterns beneath the skin surface, thereby eliminating direct contact between the authentication device and the user's hand while maintaining authentication reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical contact-based fingerprint reader with an optical scanning system. Instead of requiring physical contact between the finger and the sensor surface, the system uses optical imaging technology to capture vein patterns through the palm, substituting mechanical interaction with optical field interaction
2Ease of operation
If automated dispensers use photosensors to detect hand presence and dispense without contact, then ease of operation is improved, but monitoring of hand hygiene compliance and biometric authentication is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single dispenser system: contactless operation through optical sensors, biometric authentication via palm vein pattern recognition, hand hygiene compliance monitoring through usage tracking, and temperature screening via infrared detection. This multi-functional integration allows the dispenser to maintain ease of contactless operation while simultaneously providing comprehensive monitoring and authentication capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that track and record each dispensing event, palm authentication results, and temperature readings. This feedback is used to monitor compliance with hand hygiene protocols and provide data for verification of proper usage, enabling remote monitoring and enforcement of hygiene standards
3Object-affected harmful factors
If infrared thermometers are used to measure temperature from a distance, then contamination risk is reduced, but the ability to screen for fever in a simple system is not yet available
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the infrared temperature sensing capability with the hand dispenser system, merging two separate functions (temperature screening and fluid dispensing) into a single integrated device. This consolidation eliminates the need for a separate fever screening system, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining the benefits of contactless temperature measurement
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
The solution ensures accurate hand hygiene monitoring, reduces contamination risks, and provides an initial screening for fever, enhancing compliance and health safety in environments like hospitals and food industries.
Implementation Method 1
uses an infrared sensor to capture a user's vein pattern over the palm of a hand. A typical palm reader illuminates a user's palm with infrared light and then captures an image of the palm. Since the deoxidized hemoglobin in the vein vessels absorb at least portions of the infrared light
Implementation Method 2
Infrared thermometers are known to measure temperature using infrared radiation emitted from an object. The sensor converts the energy to an electric signal that can be displayed in units of temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser, more particularly, a hand cleaner dispenser incorporating a reader for a user's hand in the form of a palm reader which avoids the need for contact between the user's hand and the dispenser yet provides opportunity for the monitoring of usage including determining the identities of users.