US 12,239,265 B2
Fluid dispenser with sensor for determining the volume of fluid in a collapsible container
Heiner Ophardt, Arisdorf (CH); Cuneyt Tezcan, Burlington (CA); and Dusan Stan, Stoney Creek (CA)
Assigned to OP-HYGIENE IP GMBH, Niederbipp (CH)
Filed by OP-Hygiene IP GmbH, Niederbipp (CH)
Filed on Apr. 25, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/728,251.
Application 17/728,251 is a continuation of application No. 16/944,096, filed on Jul. 30, 2020, granted, now 11,350,796.
Claims priority of application No. 3050975 (CA), filed on Aug. 1, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0240729 A1, Aug. 4, 2022
Int. Cl. A47K 5/12 (2006.01)
CPC A47K 5/1211 (2013.01) [A47K 5/1217 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
providing a fluid dispenser, the fluid dispenser having a distance measuring sensor;
providing a collapsible bottle, the collapsible bottle containing a fluid to be dispensed from the fluid dispenser;
coupling the collapsible bottle to the fluid dispenser so that a preselected surface of the collapsible bottle is positioned in a measurement path of the sensor;
activating the fluid dispenser to dispense an allotment of the fluid from the collapsible bottle, the collapsible bottle collapsing as the fluid is dispensed from the collapsible bottle;
using the sensor to measure a distance between the sensor and the preselected surface of the collapsible bottle, the distance changing as the collapsible bottle collapses; and
determining a volume of the fluid contained in the collapsible bottle based on the distance between the sensor and the preselected surface of the collapsible bottle;
wherein the collapsible bottle has a first exterior wall and a second exterior wall:
wherein the preselected surface is an outer surface of the first exterior wall:
wherein, as the collapsible bottle collapses, the first exterior wall moves towards the second exterior wall;
wherein the first exterior wall is thinner than the second exterior wall;
wherein the collapsible bottle defines a variable volume internal compartment for containing the fluid;
wherein the internal compartment contains an initial volume of the fluid when the collapsible bottle is in an initial configuration;
wherein, as the fluid is dispensed from the collapsible bottle, the collapsible bottle deforms from the initial configuration towards a collapsed configuration, the internal compartment containing a smaller volume of the fluid when in the collapsed configuration than when in the initial configuration;
wherein the collapsible bottle has a third exterior wall and a neck that extends along an axis away from the third exterior wall, the neck having an opening in fluid communication with the internal compartment;
wherein the first exterior wall is further from the axis than the second exterior wall is from the axis when the collapsible bottle is in the initial configuration;
wherein the neck remains stationary relative to the sensor as the collapsible bottle deforms from the initial configuration towards the collapsed configuration; and
wherein the first exterior wall moves towards the axis as the collapsible bottle deforms from the initial configuration towards the collapsed configuration.