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Automatic Soap Dispenser Automatic soap dispensers (also known as touchless or no-touch soap dispensers) dispense a controlled amount of soap solution. They often used in conjunction with the automatic faucet in public restrooms. They function to conserve the amount of soap used and stem germ transmission. History The first dispenser was patented in 1991 termed to be an “Automatic Cleaning-liquid Dispensing Device”. The first device was patented under the following description: “An automatic cleaning-fluid dispensing device includes: a containing structure for containing cleaning fluid; a sensing device disposed on a base member being installed in the lower portion of said containing structure wherein said base member is provided with an outlet, a sensing circuit disposed on a circuit board, a motor arrangement electrically connected to the sensing circuit, an outlet for passing a light source of the sensing circuit therefrom so as to detect the presence of an external object closing on the light source; and a dispensing mechanism, which is composed of a push structure functionally connected with the driving motor and a pumping structure operatively engaged with the push structure, installed on the base member in connection with the sensing device; whereby when an external object closes to the sensing device, a given amount of the contained cleaning fluid in the containing structure will be automatically supplied for cleaning purposes.” A study was conducted in the accession area of the clinical microbiology laboratory and the outpatient dentistry department. Gram stains using lamb blood were used to measure the effectiveness of the cleansing solution; automatic dispensers were placed by the sinks. A two month study was conducted and at the conclusion, the effectiveness of the solution and product were surveyed. Although the particular alcohol antiseptic was disliked because of the skin-drying effect of the alcohol solution, the dispenser itself was recommended for greater use throughout the

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(National Center for Health Statistics) The filth, poverty, disease that permeated nineteenth century’s society was drastically reduced by revolutionary sanitation movements throughout the twentieth century. Although several other advances… can be etiologically and temporally related to some of these diseases, the causal evidence (e.g., temporal sequence, consistency, biologic plausibility) is consistent with the hypothesis that personal hygiene is one other factor that helped to determine the decline (Aiello). The advances of hygiene can be considered as one of the more silent victories of public health and continues to be an important disease prevention strategy, even in this “modern” era when the “gospel of germs” has waned in popularity (Tomes).

When washing hands, the user’s hands are placed under the nozzle and before the sensor. The activated sensor will further activate a pump that dispenses a premeasured amount of soap from the nozzle (Lenius).

Various sensors can be used to trigger the pump radar-based, photo-sensor or passive infrared.

This kind of sensor sends out bursts of microwave energy and waits for the energy to reflect back. In a stagnant situation, the energy will bounce back in a normal pattern. When hands are placed in the basin, the energy emitted from the sensor will bounce back irregularly which triggers the dispensation of soap (Harris).

This mechanism is composed of two parts, a source of focused light (usually a laser beam) and a light sensor. When the user’s hands are placed in line of the beam of light, the pump mechanism is activated by the disruption that is sensed by the light sensor (Harris).

Infrared sensors detect infrared energy that is emitted by one’s body heat. When hands are placed in the proximity of the sensor, the infrared energy quickly fluctuates. This fluctuation triggers the pump to activate and dispense the designated amount of soap (Harris)

The advancement of the automatic soap dispenser further creates an even more sterile environment. When various individuals use the pump, they will leave behind a variety of bacterial colonies. These colonies will interbreed and lead to a more resistant strain of bacteria that can re-contaminate different hands and would not be completely eliminated by the anti-bacterial soap. Wider spectra or higher levels of resistance, in the colonies that are present, are due to interaction and/or complementation between the resistance genes (Huang). Without having a wide variety of individuals touching the pump, bacterial transmission will be eliminated.

Dispensers will only distribute a set amount of soap per motion activation. A predetermined amount to be dispensed can be set to a highly efficient quantity in which waste will be minimal.

The mechanisms of the dispenser that work for soap may also work for other liquids: soap, hand sanitizer, lotion, laundry detergent etc. The wide range of possibilities extends the use of the dispenser to various other locations other than the bathroom.  

Cronin, Wendy A., and Dieter H. M. Gröschel. "A No-Rinse Alcohol Antiseptic and a No-Touch Dispenser for Hand Decontamination." Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 10.2 (1989): 80-83. Print.

Aiello, Allison E., Elaine L. Larson, and Richard Sedlak. "Against Disease: The Impact of Hygiene and Cleanliness on Health." American Journal of Infection Control 36.10 (2008): S128-151. Print. National Center for Health Statistics, United States, 2003; F. Linder and R. D. Grove, Vital Statistics Rates in the U.S. 1900-1940 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947). Tomes, N. "The Making of a Germ Panic, Then and Now." American Journal of Public Health 90.2 (2000): 191-98. Print. Lenius, Pat. "Sloan Valve." Supply House Times 47.12 (2005): 14. Print.

Harris, Tom. "How Burglar Alarms Work" 20 February 2001. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/burglar-alarm.htm> 11 December 2010.

Huang, N., J. Domingo, G. Magpantay, S. Singh, G. Zhang, N. Kumaravaivel, J. Bennett, G. S. Kush, and E. R. Angeles. "Pyramiding of Bacterial Blight Resistance Genes in Rice: Marker-assisted Selection Using RFLP and PCR." Theoretical and Applied Genetics 95.3 (1997): 313-20. Print.