Sanitary Fitting Touch Sensor Deactivation via Prolonged Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sanitary fittings with touch sensors often activate fluid delivery unintentionally during cleaning or maintenance, leading to high fluid consumption, and existing solutions for deactivating these sensors are costly or complicated.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that deactivates the touch sensor by requiring a prolonged touch for at least 3 seconds, allowing the touch mode to be temporarily inactivated without additional switches or energy interruptions, enabling fluid dispensing only when the touch mode is reactivated, and optionally confirming deactivation with a small fluid release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the touch sensor is permanently deactivated to prevent unintentional fluid delivery during cleaning, then fluid consumption is reduced, but the convenience of operation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor's operational state is made dynamic rather than static. The sensor automatically transitions between active and deactivated states based on the duration of touch input. A brief touch (less than 3 seconds) activates fluid delivery, while a prolonged touch (3 seconds or more) deactivates the sensor for cleaning purposes. This dynamic behavior allows the system to adapt to user intentions contextually, resolving the contradiction between preventing unwanted fluid delivery and maintaining operational convenience.
2Ease of operation
If additional switches or power interruption mechanisms are added to deactivate the touch sensor, then the touch sensor can be controlled during maintenance, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor serves multiple functions: it acts as both the activation interface for normal operation and the deactivation interface for maintenance mode. The same capacitive sensor that detects brief touches for fluid delivery also detects prolonged touches for deactivation. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate switches or control mechanisms, reducing device complexity while maintaining full control capability during maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of touch duration to control different operational modes. By monitoring how long the touch sensor is pressed (comparing against a threshold of 3 seconds), the system determines whether to activate fluid delivery or enter maintenance mode. This parameter-based control uses existing sensor capabilities without adding hardware complexity, as the same sensor and controller handle both brief and prolonged touches differently.
3Speed
If the touch sensor responds to any touch immediately, then the responsiveness is improved, but unintentional activation during cleaning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary assessment of the touch duration before activating fluid delivery. When the touch sensor is pressed, the controller starts timing the touch immediately. Only after confirming the touch duration is less than 3 seconds does the system activate fluid delivery. This preliminary time-based verification prevents unintentional activation during cleaning while maintaining quick response for legitimate uses, as the timing check occurs automatically and rapidly.
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
Enables convenient and cost-effective temporary deactivation of touch sensors during maintenance, reducing unwanted fluid consumption and simplifying the process by automatically reactivating the touch mode after a set period or upon reactivation of the touch sensor.
Implementation Method 1
the touch sensor, which can in particular be a capacitive sensor
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A method for operating a sanitary fitting (1), wherein the sanitary fitting (1) has a housing (2) with an outlet (3) and a touch sensor (4), wherein in a touch mode of the sanitary fitting (1) a dispensing of fluid can be activated by touching the touch sensor (4) and wherein the touch mode is deactivated by touching the touch sensor (4) for a duration of at least 3 seconds. Furthermore, a sanitary fitting (1) is specified, the control (5) of which is configured and provided for carrying out the method according to the invention.