Patent ID: 7896196

Claim:
A hands-free dispenser for dispensing a product into a target area, comprising: a dispensing mechanism; a light emitting diode associated with said dispensing mechanism; a controller; and a photodetector positioned so as to detect reflected light from said light emitting diode that represents light levels of a target area and which generates a voltage received by said controller that corresponds to detected light levels, said controller programmed to: determine an Active Voltage value recorded from said photodetector when said light emitting diode is on; determine an Ambient Voltage value recorded from said photodetector when said light emitting diode is off; determine an Average Difference value based on a series of Active Voltage values minus Ambient Voltage values; determine a Momentary Difference value equal to the difference between an Ambient Voltage value and an Active Voltage value; set a Target Level Offset value, and send a signal to said dispensing mechanism when said Momentary Difference value exceeds said Average Difference value plus said Target Level Offset value so as to dispense the product into the target area.