Electric Soap Dispenser Pump Control for Drip-Free Continuous Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric soap dispensers often fail to provide a continuous stream of soap, require priming, and have issues with power management and clogging, leading to inefficiencies and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a housing with a power supply, reservoir, pump, and electronic control unit that allows for adjustable soap dispensing, priming, and power modulation, along with features like a reversible pump to prevent dripping and a clog-clearing mode, using sensors for efficient power usage and a gasket/support leg for cost reduction and cleanliness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the pump operates in traditional mode, then single small amounts of soap are dispensed, but continuous stream dispensing is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The pump operation mode is made dynamic and adjustable, allowing users to switch between single-dose and continuous stream dispensing modes based on their needs, thereby resolving the contradiction between traditional limited functionality and user convenience for various soap dispensing scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing parameters (flow rate, duration, mode) are made changeable through electronic control, enabling the system to adapt between different dispensing patterns (single small amount vs. continuous stream) to satisfy both traditional operation and enhanced user convenience requirements
2Reliability
If the pump is operated without priming features, then the structure is simpler, but the pump fails when it dries out and contains only air
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is equipped with self-priming capability that automatically removes air from the system and fills the pump chamber with liquid soap, enabling the pump to restore its own functionality without external intervention when it dries out, thereby improving reliability without requiring complex external priming systems
Solution Approach 2:
The priming mechanism performs preliminary action by pre-filling the pump chamber with liquid soap before normal operation begins, preventing the pump from operating with air and ensuring reliable operation from startup and after drying events
3Reliability
If the sensor operates continuously, then detection is always available, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor operates periodically rather than continuously, being activated at intervals to detect objects and then entering a low-power state, which maintains adequate detection reliability for soap dispensing while significantly reducing overall power consumption of the battery-operated device
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor operation mode is made dynamic, switching between active detection and low-power states based on operational needs, allowing the system to balance detection reliability with power conservation in the battery-operated dispenser
4Device complexity
If the valve spring is positioned in the soap flow path, then the valve mechanism is compact, but liquid soap dries out and clogs the outlet
Solution Approach 1:
The valve spring is extracted from the soap flow path and repositioned in a location where it does not interfere with liquid soap flow, eliminating the clogging problem caused by soap drying on the spring while maintaining a relatively compact valve mechanism through careful spatial arrangement
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 enables continuous soap dispensing, extended battery life, reduced power consumption, and improved user convenience by allowing adjustable soap amounts, preventing dripping, and efficiently managing clogs, thus enhancing the overall performance and usability of electric soap dispensers.
Implementation Method 1
a pump disposed in the housing, the pump having an inlet connected to the outlet of the reservoir
Implementation Method 2
an electric motor supported by the housing and driving the pump, the electric motor being powered by the power supply
Implementation Method 3
a trigger sensor configured to detect the presence of an object
Data Source
AI summary
An electric soap dispenser that includes sensors for detecting the presence of an object. The dispenser can be configured to dispense an amount of liquid soap, for example, upon detecting the presence of an object. The dispenser can include various features for enhancing the performance thereof. For example, the dispenser can include an additional button for manual operation of the pump. Additionally, the dispenser can detect the voltage of a power supply and compensate for a drop in voltage of the power supply so as to produce more uniform dispensations of the liquid product. Additionally, the dispenser can include a valve at its discharge end to prevent drips.