U.S. patent application number 14/251675 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-31 for energy saving electric soap dispenser.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ableman International Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Ableman International Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Po-Hui Lin.
Application Number | 20140209631 14/251675 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51221821 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140209631 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Po-Hui |
July 31, 2014 |
Energy saving electric soap dispenser
Abstract
An electric soap dispenser is provided with a housing; a cover;
a reservoir; a valve; a nozzle; an electric motor; a gear system;
an arm having one end rotatably disposed in the gear system; a link
having one end pivotably secured to an other end of the arm and
loosely put on the nozzle; an electric control unit; a sensor; and
a power source. The electric control unit actuates the electric
motor upon receiving a signal from the sensor, the actuated
electric motor rotates the gear system, one end of the arm rotates
180-degree to move the link upward to open the valve thereby
flowing liquid soap from the reservoir to the nozzle, and one end
of the arm rotates further 180-degree to move the link downward to
close the valve thereby stopping the flowing and deactivating the
electric motor. Power demand is greatly reduced when in use.
Inventors: |
Lin; Po-Hui; (Taipei,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ableman International Co., Ltd. |
Taipei |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Ableman International Co.,
Ltd.
Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
51221821 |
Appl. No.: |
14/251675 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/52 ;
222/333 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 5/1217 20130101;
A47K 5/1207 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/52 ;
222/333 |
International
Class: |
B67D 1/00 20060101
B67D001/00; B65D 88/54 20060101 B65D088/54 |
Claims
1. An electric soap dispenser comprising: a housing; a cover
releasably secured to the housing; a reservoir configured to store
liquid soap; a valve communicating with the reservoir; a nozzle
communicating with the valve; a gear system; an electric motor for
driving the gear system; an arm having one end rotatably disposed
in the gear system; a link having one end pivotably secured to an
other end of the arm and loosely put on the nozzle; an electric
control unit for controlling actuation of the electric motor; a
trigger sensor for detecting the presence of an object and
generating a trigger signal; and a power source electrically
connected to both the electric control unit and the electric motor;
wherein the electric control unit actuates the electric motor upon
receiving the trigger signal from the trigger sensor, the actuated
electric motor rotates the gear system, one end of the arm rotates
180-degree to move the link upward to open the valve thereby
flowing a predetermined amount of liquid soap from the reservoir to
the nozzle via the valve, and one end of the arm rotates further
180-degree to move the link downward to close the valve thereby
stopping the flowing and causing the electric control unit to
deactivate the electric motor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to soap dispensers and more
particularly to a battery-powered electric soap dispenser capable
of greatly reducing the power demand when in use.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Conventionally, a soap dispenser is mounted on the wall of a
bathroom or a shower room adjacent to a sink. There are electric
soap dispensers powered by a plurality of batteries commercially
available. However, soap reservoir, valve, and nozzle of the
conventional electric soap dispenser are not optimally devised in
term of force applications and energy saving. Thus, only a limited
times of use can be made due to limited power from the batteries.
Further, a large compartment for receiving more batteries is not
possible due to crowded interior of the electric soap dispenser.
Thus, a frequent replacement of the depleted batteries is required
for maintaining a normal operation of the electric soap dispenser.
This is very inconvenient and is not economical.
[0005] Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an
electric soap dispenser comprising a housing; a cover releasably
secured to the housing; a reservoir configured to store liquid
soap; a valve communicating with the reservoir; a nozzle
communicating with the valve; an electric motor; a gear system; an
arm having one end rotatably disposed in the gear system; a link
having one end pivotably secured to an other end of the arm and
loosely put on the nozzle; an electric control unit for controlling
actuation of the electric motor; a trigger sensor for detecting the
presence of an object and generating a trigger signal; and a power
source electrically connected to both the electric control unit and
the electric motor; wherein the electric control unit actuates the
electric motor upon receiving the trigger signal from the trigger
sensor, the actuated electric motor rotates the gear system, one
end of the arm rotates 180-degree to move the link upward to open
the valve thereby flowing a predetermined amount of liquid soap
from the reservoir to the nozzle via the valve, and one end of the
arm rotates further 180-degree to move the link downward to close
the valve thereby stopping the flowing and causing the electric
control unit to deactivate the electric motor.
[0007] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an energy saving electric
soap dispenser according to the invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the energy saving
electric soap dispenser;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the discharge
mechanism;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the electric soap dispenser
with the cover and the reservoir removed;
[0012] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of FIG. 4;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the assembled valve, the
link, the arm, the gear system and the electric motor;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a front view in part section of FIG. 6;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing an upward
movement of the link to open the valve for dispensing liquid soap;
and
[0016] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing a downward
movement of the link to close the valve for stopping the
dispensing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 9, an energy saving electric soap
dispenser 1 in accordance with the invention comprises a cover 2, a
discharge mechanism, an activation mechanism, and a housing 5 as
discussed in detail below.
[0018] The activation mechanism is disposed on the housing 5. The
cover 2 is releasably secured to the housing 5 by snapping. The
discharge mechanism includes a reservoir 31 configured to store
liquid soap, a valve 32 disposed under the reservoir 31 and
communicating with the reservoir 31, and a nozzle 33 at a bottom of
the valve 32 and communicating with the valve 32.
[0019] The activation mechanism includes a power source (e.g., a
plurality of batteries) 41 disposed in a compartment, a circuit
board (i.e., electric control unit) 42, an electric motor 43, a
gear system 44, a mounting member 45, and a support 46 having a
recess 461. The circuit board 42 includes a trigger sensor 421. The
gear system 44 includes an arm 441 having one end rotatably
disposed therein, and a link 442 having one end pivotably secured
to the other end of the arm 441 and loosely put on the nozzle 33.
The power source 41, the circuit board 42, the electric motor 43,
and the gear system 44 are mounted on the support 45. The power
source 41, the circuit board 42, and the electric motor 43 are
electrically interconnected. The valve 32 is anchored in the recess
451.
[0020] Operations of the electric soap dispenser 1 are described
below. The trigger sensor 421 generates a trigger signal when the
hand of a user approaches the nozzle 33. The trigger signal is
transmitted to the circuit board 42 which in turn activates the
electric motor 43. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the activated
electric motor 43 rotates the gear system 44. Thus, one end of the
arm 441 rotates 360-degree in the gear system 44 prior to stopping.
In the same time, the link 442 moves up and down in which the
upward movement of the link 442 opens the valve 32. Thus, liquid
soap in the reservoir 31 flows to the nozzle 33 via the valve 32.
Thus, a predetermined amount of liquid soap is discharged to drop
on the hand. Finally, the application of liquid soap is stopped
when the link 42 moves downward. Also, the electric motor 43 is
deactivated as controlled by the circuit board 42. This can save
electric energy.
[0021] The electric soap dispenser 1 is characterized by employing
the law of the lever. In detail, the point of the link 442 joining
the valve 32 is taken as a fulcrum. Length of a portion of the arm
441 (i.e., from the fulcrum to the joining point of the arm 441 and
the link 442) is taken as one distance (i.e., input) and the length
from the joining point of the link 442 and the valve 32 to the
other end of the link 442 is taken as the other distance (i.e.,
output). A small input force at the joining point of the arm 441
and the link 442 can be amplified to provide a greater output force
at the other end of the link 442. Thus, the valve 32 can be opened
or closed by applying a small force. The small force means less
electricity is required to rotate the gear system 44 by activating
the electric motor 43 (i.e., saving energy). It has been proved
that operating time of the electric soap dispenser 1 of the
invention is about four times greater than that of a typical
electric soap dispenser when both are subject to the same electric
power (i.e., having the same batteries). In short, the electric
soap dispenser 1 of the invention can save three quarters of
electric energy as compared with the typical electric soap
dispenser.
[0022] While the invention has been described in terms of preferred
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the
invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *