Fluid Dosing Substrate Dispenser

This application is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 18/161,466, filed Jan. 30, 2023, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/161,259, filed Jan. 30, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/194,098, filed Mar. 5, 2021, each of which is hereby incorporated herewith by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a device that can selectively dose a substrate with fluid as desired and dispense such dosed substrate.

Dosing of substrates with fluids is applicable in various contexts including commercial, industrial, and consumer contexts. Examples include dosing a paper substrate with ink for manufacturing labeling purposes. Another example may include dosing a reactive substrate with a fluid that causes the material combination to react for industrial applications.

Yet another example may include dosing a porous substrate with a liquid to assist in the effective application of the liquid to other surfaces. One illustrative example of this modality may be the dosing of substrates such as cloth or paper with cleaning and/or disinfecting fluids. Exposed surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected to keep them safe. Spraying surfaces with disinfectant and wiping the surfaces clean with cloth or paper towels is a well-known method of cleaning. However, dealing with both a spray bottle and a towel or a roll of paper towels is not ideal, particularly in the professional cleaning context. The market has attempted to address these concerns by providing paper substrates that are pre-moistened with disinfectants or other fluids. People commonly refer to these pre-moistened substrates as wet wipes. Various wipe dispensing packages exist that store multiple wet wipes which can be dispensed one at a time by the user. Typically, the wipes are stored in the dispensing device pre-dosed with the fluid. The dispensing device substantially seals to prevent the fluid in the wet wipes from evaporating. This approach tends to be costly and limiting in terms of available options for both substrates and fluids.

The inventors of the invention disclosed herein have determined that the market, including potentially the commercial, industrial, and consumer markets, would benefit from a novel fluid dosing substrate dispenser as described herein.

Challenges remain with conventional approaches. In the above exemplary context of wet wipes, for example, the conventional approach of storing multiple wet wipes in a sealed container has been satisfactory in some respects, but problems nonetheless remain. The most common problem that arises is the wet wipes drying out. This may occur when the devices or packaging does not seal properly because of failure in design or because of damage during transportation or storage. Drying out of the wet wipes may nevertheless occur over time even if the devices or packaging work properly.

Another common problem is that wipe saturation may not be uniform throughout the packaging and, thus, wipes at the bottom may tend to be wetter while wipes at the top may dry out. Moreover, wet wipes may attach to each other and become inseparable when a user seeks to remove one from the device or packaging; the user would get two or more wet wipes at once. This may be wasteful because wet wipes often cannot or should not go back in the device or packaging. As a result, the user goes through her supply of wet wipes faster than she otherwise should have.

Another common problem is that chemicals in the fluid used to pre-wet the wipes can evaporate such that the-volume of the fluid is reduced, or eliminated, with the passage of time. This is particularly likely to occur in the common circumstance where the wipes are dispensed only occasionally and the wipe fluid thus has a relatively long residence time in the dispenser.

Another problem is that, over time, the fluid and the wipe substrate may chemically interact with each other in such a way that the efficacy of the wipe and/or the fluid is compromised. Again, this problem may be of particular concern in the case where the wipes have a relatively long residence time in the dispenser.

Another problem with typical wipe dispensing systems is that they lack flexibility in terms of the chemical formulations that can be employed. That is, typical wipe dispensing systems are constrained to a limited number of types of chemical formulations for the fluid, since the fluid is required to remain relatively efficacious over a long period of time and cannot have adverse interactions with the wipe substrate material. Corresponding restrictions are imposed on the wipes as well. That is, the wipes must be made of a substrate material that does not significantly degrade when exposed to the fluid for long periods of time.

Typical wipe dispensing packaging lack flexibility in other regards as well. For example, it is sometimes the case that a fluid combination is relatively more efficacious than its individual components considered separately. However, such fluid combinations may be efficacious for only a limited period of time. Consequently, it may not be practical to use wipes pre-dosed with such fluid combinations in typical wipe dispensing systems since the fluid on the wipe may reside in the dispensing system for a period of time longer than its useful life.

In light of problems such as those noted above, it would be useful to provide a wipe dispensing system that enables use of various fluids or fluid combinations. It would also be useful to provide a wipe dispensing system that enables relatively long-term storage of the substrate and fluids without material degradation of either.

More generally, on-demand dosing of substrates affords the user flexibility in terms of the time of use (i.e., they user may does immediately prior to use), variety of fluids and substrates, combination of fluids and substrates characteristics for specific applications, personalization of the fluid/substrate combination (i.e., one professional may prefer a first dose while another may prefer a second, different dose from the first one), cost reduction (e.g., the combination of substrate and fluid does not need to take place at the factory), etc.

The present disclosure provides devices and methods to address the above discussed problems and solutions. The present disclosure describes a device that can selectively wet a substrate on demand based on a preference of the user. More particularly, the disclosed substrate dispenser can allow different users to customize how the substrate is dosed and the same substrate dispenser can apply different fluids and/or fluid patterns and/or fluid amounts on the same substrates for different users. On-demand dosing of substrates may also help ensure the used fluids remain at full potency indefinitely or at least for prolonged periods of time as compared to, for example, pre-dosed wet wipes. On-demand dosing of substrates may also help ensure the used fluids do not heavily prematurely interact with the substrate, thereby preserving the efficacy of the substrate and the fluid.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various example systems, methods, and so on, that illustrate various example embodiments of aspects of the invention. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. An element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a fluid dosing substrate dispenser comprises a housing including a base portion, a first fluid reservoir and/or a first fluid reservoir holder configured to removably receive the first fluid reservoir, and a second fluid reservoir and/or a second fluid reservoir holder configured to removably receive the second fluid reservoir; a substrate advancing mechanism configured to receive substrate from a substrate source and to advance a portion of the substrate through the housing; an application mechanism configured to apply fluid from at least one of the first fluid reservoir or the second fluid reservoir to one or more portions of the substrate; and a computing system configured to control the application mechanism to apply the fluid and to select at least one of amount of fluid for application, composition of fluid for application, or portion of the substrate the fluid is applied based on an input received by the computing system, wherein the computing system is further configured to control the substrate advancing mechanism to advance the portion of the substrate through the housing based on the input received indicating a user of the substrate dispenser.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the computing system includes a first profile and a second profile, wherein the first profile includes a first predetermined composition of fluid for application, wherein the second profile includes a second predetermined composition of fluid for application, wherein the computing system is further configured to select the first profile or the second profile based on the input received.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the input received by the computing system comprises a wireless signal from a transmitter.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the substrate dispenser further includes a proximity sensor configured to detect distance of the transmitter to the housing, wherein the computing system is further configured to control the application to apply the fluid when the transmitter is within a threshold distance from the housing.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the first fluid reservoir holder includes a sensor configured to detect fluid content of the first fluid reservoir, wherein the second fluid reservoir holder includes a second sensor configured to detect fluid content of the second fluid reservoir.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, fluid in the first fluid reservoir and fluid in the second fluid reservoir are different.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the housing further includes a third fluid reservoir holder configured to removably receive a third fluid reservoir, wherein the application mechanism is further configured to apply fluid from the third fluid reservoir.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the computing system is configured to cause the application mechanism to apply fluid from the first fluid reservoir to a first portion of the substrate and to apply fluid from the second fluid reservoir to the first portion of the substrate on top of the fluid from the first fluid reservoir.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the application mechanism comprises a plurality of nozzles arranged in a dot matrix.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the portion of the substrate the fluid is applied to is a predetermined pattern.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the application mechanism includes a fluid conduit to fluidly connect a nozzle to apply fluid to the substrate to the first fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the computing system is further configured to cause a second application mechanism to apply a cleaning fluid to the fluid conduit to flush the fluid conduit after applying the fluid to the substrate.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, further including a cutting mechanism configured to separate the substrate from a second substrate from the substrate source.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the housing further includes a portion configured to removably retain the substrate source to allow substrate from the substrate source to be advanced by the substrate advancing mechanism.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a computing system for operating a fluid dosing substrate dispenser comprises a processor; and memory that stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising: detecting presence of a user based on input received from a sensor of the substrate dispenser; advancing substrate from a substrate source through a housing via a substrate advancing mechanism in response to receiving the input; selecting at least one amount of fluid for application onto the substrate, composition of fluid for application onto the substrate, or portion of the substrate the fluid is applied based on the input received; and applying fluid from at least one a first fluid reservoir or a second fluid reservoir onto the advanced substrate via an application mechanism based on the selection.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, selecting includes selecting a profile from a list of profiles, wherein each profile corresponds to a different user.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, detecting presence of the user includes detecting a distance of the user from the housing.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, the acts further comprising separating the advanced substrate from a second substrate from the substrate source via a substrate separator.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating a fluid dosing substrate dispenser comprises detecting presence of a user based on input received from a sensor of the substrate dispenser; advancing substrate from a substrate source through a housing via a substrate advancing mechanism in response to receiving the input; selecting at least one amount of fluid for application onto the substrate, composition of fluid for application onto the substrate, or portion of the substrate the fluid is applied based on the input received; and applying fluid from at least one a first fluid reservoir or a second fluid reservoir onto the advanced substrate via an application mechanism based on the selection.

According to an embodiment of any paragraph(s) of this summary, selecting includes selecting a profile from a list of profiles, wherein each profile corresponds to a different user.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the disclosure comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the disclosure may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

Aspects of the present application that pertain to a fluid dosing substrate dispenser are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details.

In reference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as, top, bottom, left, right, up, down, upper, lower, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may be used. Such directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the features described herein in any manner. It is to be understood that embodiments presented herein are by way of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of the following detailed description, although discussing exemplary embodiments, is to be construed to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalents of the embodiments as may fall within the spirit and scope of the features described herein.

Further, as used herein, the terms “component” and “system” are intended to encompass computer-readable data storage that is configured with computer-executable instructions that cause certain functionality to be performed when executed by a processor. The computer-executable instructions may include a routine, a function, or the like. It is also to be understood that a component or system may be localized on a single device or distributed across several devices. Further, as used herein, the term “exemplary” is intended to mean serving as an illustration or example of something and is not intended to indicate a preference.

illustrates a functional block diagram of an example substrate dispenserconfigured to provide a selectively dosed substrate. The substrate dispensermay include an application mechanism, a substrate advancing mechanism, and/or at least one fluid reservoir or fluid reservoir holder. In the embodiments illustrated herein, the fluid reservoir holder is configured for insertion of a separate fluid reservoir, however it is conceivable that the fluid reservoir is embedded within the fluid reservoir holder and the user refills the embedded fluid reservoir instead of inserting the fluid reservoir. The application mechanismmay be configured to selectively apply one or more fluids onto the substrate. As will be described in detail below, any suitable fluid can be applied to suitable portions of the substrate and the fluid may include a composition of different fluids. The substrate advancing mechanismmay be configured to advance the substrate as the fluid is applied by the application mechanism.

The substrate dispensercan include any suitable number of fluid reservoir holders, such as one fluid reservoir holder and/or a plurality of reservoir holders (e.g., three reservoir holders, five reservoir holders, or N number of reservoir holders). In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate dispenserincludes a first fluid reservoir holderand a second fluid reservoir holder. Both the first fluid reservoir holderand the second fluid reservoir holdercan be connected to the same application mechanismand/or different application mechanisms can be used for different reservoir holders.

In the illustrated embodiment, the application mechanism, the substrate advancing mechanism, the first fluid reservoir holder, and the second fluid reservoir holderare all contained within a housing. However, it is conceivable that the application mechanism, the substrate advancing mechanism, the first fluid reservoir holder, and/or the second fluid reservoir holder(or portions thereof) may be located outside the housing(and optionally may be attached to the housing). The housingmay include a base portionconfigured to support the housingon a surface. For instance, the base portioncan be configured to support the housingon a horizontal surface, such as a counter or a bathroom vanity. In another example, the base portioncan be configured for attachment to a vertical surface.

To control operation of the substrate dispenser, the substrate dispensercan further include a computing system. As will be described in detail below, the computing systemcan be configured to receive an input from a user of the substrate dispenserand control the application mechanismand/or the substrate advancing mechanismin response to the input. The computing systemcan be further configured to communicate with a sensor systemwithin the housingto receive sensor inputs from the sensor systemto control the application mechanismand/or the substrate advancing mechanism. As will be discussed in detail below, the sensor systemof the substrate dispensercan include any suitable number of sensors that can be configured to detect a state of any suitable number of components in the substrate dispenser, such as substrate sensor, a fluid sensor, and/or the like.

The substrate dispensermay yet further include a cutting mechanism configured to separate a dispensed substrate from an attached subsequent substrate. For instance, the cutting mechanism may include a sensor in the sensor systemthat detects a perforation between the dispensed substrate and the subsequent substrate, and a separation operation is performed to separate the substrates. Any suitable separation operation can be used, such as slicing along the perforation, delivering pressurized air to the perforation to tear the perforation, and/or the like.

Turning now to, illustrated is an exemplary implementationof the substrate dispenser. In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate dispenserincludes the housingthat further includes a substrate source holderconfigured to receive one or more substrate sources. The substrate source holdercan take any suitable shape, size, and/or configuration, and different configurations can be used for different substrate sources. In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate source holderis configured as a cylindrical cavitycorresponding to a diameter of a standard commercial or domestic paper towel roll (e.g., Bounty®). In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate source holdercan be configured to support the paper towel rollvertically. In another embodiment, the substrate source holdercan be configured to support the paper towel rollhorizontally or in other orientations.

The substrate source holdercan be further configured to inform the user of status of the substrate source (e.g., the paper towel roll) in the substrate source holder. For instance, the substrate source holdercan be configured to inform the user of number of substrates remaining in the substrate source. In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate source holderis shaped to leave a portion of the paper towel rollvisible when the paper towel rollis inserted into the substrate source holder. The substrate source holdercan leave any portion of the paper towel rollvisible, such as more than fifty percent as illustrated.

The sensor systemof the substrate dispensercan further include one or more sensors for detecting intent of the user. For instance, the illustrated substrate dispenserincludes a first sensorand a second sensor(hereafter, sensors,) that can detect the user's hand proximate the sensors,. The computing systemcan be configured to use this detection by the sensors,to predict the user's intent to advance the substrate from the paper towel roll. The sensors,can be further configured to indicate different intents. More particularly, detecting the user's hand proximate the first sensormay cause the substrate dispenserto dispense a dry substrate, while detecting the user's hand proximate the second sensormay cause the substrate dispenserto dispense a wet substrate.

To prevent the substrate dispenserfrom inadvertently dispensing substrate, the sensors,can be configured to detect distance of the user from the housing. For instance, the sensorcan determine the distance between the user and the housingbased on the user's hand from the housing. The sensors,can be further configured to provide the input to the computing systemwhen the user's hand is within a threshold distance from the housing.

The housingof the substrate dispensercan be configured hold one or more fluid reservoirs. In the illustrated embodiment, the housingincludes both the first fluid reservoir holderand the second fluid reservoir holderto hold a multitude of fluid reservoirs. The illustrated fluid reservoir holders,are configured to hold corresponding fluid reservoirs vertically, but can be configured to hold the fluid reservoirs at any suitable angle, such as horizontally. The first fluid reservoir holderand the second fluid reservoir holder(and their corresponding fluid reservoirs) can be similarly shaper and/or can vary. In the illustrated embodiment, a first fluid reservoirand a second fluid reservoir(hereafter fluid reservoirs,) are similarly shaped.

As seen more clearly in, the housingof the substrate dispensermay further include a cover or doorthat permits the user to access one or more interior portions of the housing. The doormay further include a latchto allow the user to selectively open or secure the dooras desired.