Aerosol dispenser control system

摘要

Disclosed are automated aerosol dispensers for delivering chemicals (e.g. cleaners, fragrances, insect control agents) from the dispenser to selected locations (e.g. the air; a toilet bowl; a shower enclosure). There is an actuator (e.g. a push button or a foot pedal) for initiating dispensing, and a holder for an aerosol container. The aerosol container stores the chemical before use. There is a switch associated with the holder that recognizes when the aerosol container has been mounted to the holder, and when thereafter that aerosol container has been dismounted from the holder. A controller controls dispensing of the chemical from the aerosol container in response to actuation. The controller has a timer that determines the amount of time that chemical is to be delivered from the aerosol container upon the dispenser being actuated by the actuator. A database is provided for assisting the controller in varying the time that the timer permits dispensing in response to activation. The system thus can correct for pressure drop off in the can as the can nears empty.

主权项

1. An aerosol dispenser control system for delivering a chemical from an aerosol container that stores the chemical to a selected location, the system comprising:
a holder for the aerosol container, wherein the holder has a switch that recognizes if the aerosol container has been mounted to the holder and also recognizes if thereafter the aerosol container has been dismounted from the holder; an actuator for initiating dispensing of the chemical from the aerosol container; a controller for controlling dispensing of the chemical from the aerosol container in response to initiation by the actuator, wherein the controller has a timer that determines the amount of time that the chemical is to be delivered from the aerosol container in a spray cycle of the system upon the system being actuated by the actuator; and wherein the controller further comprises means for automatically increasing the time that the timer specifies the chemical to be dispensed from the system in a spray cycle which reflects at least in part the extent to which the aerosol container has previously dispensed chemical via the system; wherein said means for automatically increasing the time comprises a counter to track how many times the aerosol container has already experienced a spray cycle, and a memory that stores a set of instructions that define varied dispensing times based upon the number of spray cycles that a newly installed aerosol container has been used for; whereby said means for automatically increasing the time establishes an increased dispensing time per spray event when the aerosol container has previously dispensed chemical multiple times via the system, as compared to a dispensing time for a newly installed aerosol container; whereby the system is configured to help correct for pressure drop off in the container as the container approaches empty, and thereby help achieve more constant volume of dispensing per spray event as the can approaches empty.