Estimating users of a product dispenser

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10791886-B2
Application number	US-201816149689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2018
Priority date	Jan 23, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for optimizing performance of a product dispenser are provided herein. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the product dispenser (e.g., the environment, the type or habits of users or individual users, etc.), initial dispensing parameter settings of the product dispenser may be undesirable. Using monitored usage data, optimized dispensing parameters can be determined to achieve more desirable usage of the product dispenser (e.g., decrease waste, power save, increase efficiency, etc.). Additionally, using bounding parameters and/or information from the environment (e.g., nearby product dispensers) can lead to further optimized performance of the product dispenser. User or group specific optimized dispensing parameters can also be determined and used.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A product dispenser comprising:
a roll holder configured to hold a product roll;
a dispensing mechanism configured to perform a dispense of sheet product from the product roll;
a sensor configured to sense the occurrence of a dispense;
a time sensor configured to determine a time or a time period; and
a controller configured to:
cause the dispensing mechanism to perform each of a number of dispenses of product during a dispensing period;
sense, based on sensor data from the sensor, the number of dispenses during the dispensing period;
sense, based on data from the time sensor, time data associated with each of the number of dispenses during the dispensing period, wherein the time data comprises at least one of a time associated with each of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period or a time period between each of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period;
determine a first subset of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period, wherein each dispense in the first subset occurred more than or equal to a threshold time apart from any other dispense in the dispensing period;
determine a second subset of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period, wherein each dispense in the second subset occurred less than or equal to the threshold time apart from at least one other dispense in the dispensing period;
determine a first estimated number of unique users equal to a total number of dispenses in the first subset;
determine a second estimated number of unique users equal to a fraction of a total number of dispenses in the second subset; and
determine an overall estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period by summing the first estimated number of unique users and the second estimated number of unique users.

2. The product dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a user sensor of the product dispenser, a tear sensor of the product dispenser, or other type sensor of the product dispenser that is configured to sense the occurrence of a dispense.

3. The product dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the second estimated number of unique users by dividing the total number of dispenses in the second subset by 2.

4. The product dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine an average dispensing parameter over the dispensing period based on the overall estimated number of unique users.

5. The product dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine a confidence factor for the second estimated number of unique users; and
determine a first statistical number of unique users by applying the confidence factor to a fraction of the total number of dispenses in the second subset.

6. The product dispenser according to claim 5 , wherein the confidence factor is based on a determined rate of a theoretical number of users per hour based on the second estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period.

7. The product dispenser according to claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine a second statistical number of unique users by subtracting the first statistical number of unique users from the second estimated number of unique users; and
determine the overall estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period by summing the first estimated number of unique users, the first statistical number of unique users, and the second statistical number of unique users.

8. A system comprising:
a product dispenser comprising:
a roll holder configured to hold a product roll;
a dispensing mechanism configured to perform a dispense of sheet product from the product roll;
a sensor configured to sense the occurrence of a dispense;
a time sensor configured to determine a time or a time period;
a communication interface configured to transmit one or more signals to a remote computing device; and
a product dispenser controller configured to:
cause the dispensing mechanism to perform each of a number of dispenses of product during a dispensing period;
sense, based on sensor data from the sensor, the number of dispenses during the dispensing period;
sense, based on data from the time sensor, time data associated with each of the number of dispenses during the dispensing period, wherein the time data comprises at least one of a time associated with each of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period or a time period between each of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period; and
cause, via the communications interface, transmission of the number of dispenses during the dispensing period and the time data associated with each of the number of dispenses during the dispensing period to the remote computing device; and

the remote computing device comprising:
a remote computing device communications interface; and
a remote computing device controller configured to:
determine a first subset of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period, wherein each dispense in the first subset occurred more than or equal to a threshold time apart from any other dispense in the dispensing period;
determine a second subset of the number of dispenses in the dispensing period, wherein each dispense in the second subset occurred less than or equal to the threshold time apart from at least one other dispense in the dispensing period;
determine a first estimated number of unique users equal to a total number of dispenses in the first subset;
determine a second estimated number of unique users equal to a fraction of a total number of dispenses in the second subset; and
determine an overall estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period by summing the first estimated number of unique users and the second estimated number of unique users.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a user sensor of the product dispenser, a tear sensor of the product dispenser, or other type sensor of the product dispenser that is configured to sense the occurrence of a dispense.

10. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the remote computing device controller is configured to determine the second estimated number of unique users by dividing the total number of dispenses in the second subset by 2.

11. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the remote computing device controller is further configured to determine an average dispensing parameter over the dispensing period based on the overall estimated number of unique users.

12. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the remote computing device controller is further configured to:
determine a confidence factor for the second estimated number of unique users; and
determine a first statistical number of unique users by applying the confidence factor to a fraction of the total number of dispenses in the second subset.

13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the confidence factor is based on a determined rate of a theoretical number of users per hour based on the second estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period.

14. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the remote computing device controller is further configured to:
determine a second statistical number of unique users by subtracting the first statistical number of unique users from the second estimated number of unique users; and
determine the overall estimated number of unique users during the dispensing period by summing the first estimated number of unique users, the first statistical number o

Assignees

• Gpcp Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Borke Brian Scott

Classifications

• A47K10/38 Primary

  the web being rolled-up · CPC title

• A47K2010/3881

  with tearing edges having movable parts · CPC title

• A47K5/1217

  Electrical control means for the dispensing mechanism · CPC title

• A47K2010/3226

  collecting data of usage · CPC title

• A47K10/3625

  with electronic control means · CPC title