Design And Construction Of An Automatic Solar Powered Hand Washing Machine With Hand Dryer

The unhealthy pattern of washing and drying of hands in various restaurants and places of food selling and the rate of disease transmission such as corona virus and Ebola has prompted the need for this project. We have taken the standard mechanical Hand washing made it a technological engineering wonder of touch-less Hand washing. The machine comprises a housing having a top portion and a bottom portion. The top portion is spherical shaped structure comprising a fluid injection system for injecting water and liquid soap to users’ hands. The bottom portion comprises a box shaped structure. The machine further comprises a wash basin coupled in the interior of said box shaped structure with circular opening under where the used water or liquid soap pass through, an electronic eye for detecting the insertion of hands in said wash basin and a control unit for timing the activation of said water injection. This research work has successfully presented a functional and highly efficient low cost sensor controlled hand washing machine with dryer which is usable in different places within our geographical environment. The main aim of this work is a device that will automatically detects a human body nearby to the washing machine by the usage of proximity sensor and then allows the flow of water or soap automatically and the same thing happens if the same hand is place on the drying machine after washing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
• PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
• SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
• LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
• APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT
• BENEFITS OF THIS DESIGN
• METHODOLOGY
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF HANDWASHING
• HOW GERMS SPREAD
• SUBSTANCES USED FOR HAND WASHING
• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF HAND WASHING
• REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SOLAR CELLS
• EFFICIENCIES OF SOLAR PANEL
• BENEFITS OF SOLAR BATTERY CHARGERS
• THEORY OF SOLAR CELLS

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
• COMPONENTS USED
• DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS USED
• WORKING PRINCIPLE
• CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
• CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
• WORKING OF AUTOMATIC HAND WASHING MACHINE
• PROGRAMMING THE ARDUINO BOARD
• DESIGN CODE

CHAPTER FOUR

TEST AND RESULT ANALYSIS

• INSTALLATION OF THE COMPLET DESIGN
• CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING
• ECONOMIC OF THE PROJECT
• PROJECT VIABILITY
• RELIABILITY
• MAINTAINABILITY
• PROJECT EVALUATION
• RESULT ANALYSIS

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• RECOMMENDATION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                           INTRODUCTION

1.1                              BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Importance of hand washing cannot be over-emphasized, especially in developing nations where eating with hands is a common practice. In some developing cultures, there is always the reluctance of hand washing before meals; and in some, hand washing has become a culturally accepted norm. Eating with the hands was going on for generations before anyone thought of washing their hands first. So along the way, through technology and hygiene practices, people become educated in the improvement of hand washing.

An automatic solar powered hand washing and drying machine is an automated and mobile hand washing machine powered by solar panels. It was invented by Richard Kwarteng and his team in Kumasi. The Solar Wash machine was invited to fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic by not touching the tap before and after washing hands whilst automatic hand dryer was invented to reduce the rate of paper towel usage which can carelessly littered in our environment by the user. Richard Kwarteng said he took inspiration from the veronica bucket when he and his team was inventing the solar wash (Bonney Abigail, 2020)

Hand washing is the single most important way of preventing the spread of infections, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Unwashed or poorly washed hands are very common way of spreading many diseases such as: cold, flu, ear infections, strep throat, diarrhea and other intestinal problems. Germs and viruses causing these diseases are passed on by such routine things as handling food, touching door knobs, shaking hands and putting mouths on a telephone receiver. And in our daily activities we practice one of these either in the offices, at home, in the market places, in the classroom and so on. Good hand washing practices have also been known to reduce the incidence of other diseases, notably pneumonia, trachoma, scabies, skin and eye infections and diarrhea-related diseases like cholera and dysentery, according to World Health Organization (WHO). The promotion of hand washing with soap is also a key strategy for controlling the spread of Avian Influenza (bird flu). After the incidence of SARS-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, more and more people on their daily lives gave more attention to health habits; the daily number of hand-washing increased than before. This prompted us to contribute with this project as a way to increasing the practice of hand washing in our society so as to remain healthy.

This machine is specially designed for use in the offices, public restroom and as well for the general domestic washing and drying of the hands at home. It supplies both soapy and clean water in a sequential order during the washing and rinsing cycle and then supplies a warm air current to dry up the completely washed hand thereof. It is handy and easy to use. More importantly, it can avoid the contagious diseases; for example, when it was a manual type hand washing machine, to turn on/off the tap, you must need the help of your hands. In this case, your hands or fingers would be infected with any virus left by any possible previous user if he or she is infected with a disease. With the automatic type, you will not only use the water at ease, but also avoid any possible contact with any contagious disease.

Also some cases were considered whereby people would inevitably, more or less, waste some water as we might have seen people washing their hands at any public places or at home. It is not necessarily because people tend to waste some water at their own will, for example, when it is a traditional mechanical type, people would wash their hands under the pressed water with the switch on, as the switch is positioned at this state, the water keeps being pressed down at the same amount no matter when the person really needs the water to wash or not. This causes low efficiency of water usage. Another possibility is that people who are in a hurry may often unconsciously forget about turning the tap off, if they really forget about it, the water would keep flowing or dripping until it gets turned off by the next user. As for the automatic type, it turns on and off automatically as it senses any object with energy or heat. In this case, the unnecessary waste of water can be avoided. Therefore with all these benefits, the automatic hand washing machine are becoming increasingly popular among schools, families, dining halls, companies or any other public places.

1.2                                    PROBLEM STATEMENT

Due to higher level of spreading of diseases such as corona virus, Ebola and other contagious diseases, wasting and littering of paper towel in our environment after washing : constant washing and drying of hands was recommended which is to be carried out without making contact with washing devices as recommended by the world health organization (WHO). Because of this problem of virus spreading this device was invented to solve the problem of making contact with the washing machine and a reliable hand washing and drying means.

1.3                                           OBJECTIVES OF THE DESIGN

The main aim of this work is build a device that can be used to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and other contagious diseases. At the end of this work the following objectives shall be achieved:

1. To enhance the level of hygiene wherever
2. To increase the level of awareness of people as regards to the proper washing and drying of hands in accordance with the policy of the National Orientation Agency in Nigeria.
3. To solve a considerable fraction of the problems associated with washing and drying of hands, so as to reduce the risk of disease transfer, between
4. To expose the fact that the proper washing and drying of hands after holding objects, using the toilet and even transfer/exchanging money between individuals, will geometrically reduce the rate and/or presence of ill health in the area in question.

1.4                                   PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this work is to enhance regular hand washing among the people in a safe, cost-effective and hygienic manner which can lead to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic within the institution and beyond.

1.5                                                   SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The solar wash machine is powered by a sensor which allows an individual to wash hands without touch the tap. When washing hands the soap comes out from the tap first for individual to wash hands thoroughly with liquid soap during which an alarm beeps for five seconds after which water comes out of the tap to rinse hands. Once the water and disinfectant dispensers are filled, more than 1,000 people will be able to use the automated machine. It will need to be refilled afterwards. The automatic hand drying resumes automatically whenever hand is place at the outlet of the blower.

1.6                                              APPLICATION OF THE STUDY

solar hand washing machine, which could be used in public places and homes, has been developed in conformity with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standard of compulsory 20 seconds of hand scrubbing. This device can be used in places like: government ministries and agencies, worship places (like mosque and churches), markets, homes and institutions

1.7                                            BENEFITS OF THIS DESIGN

Hygiene: Washing hands thoroughly is effective in preventing the spread of germs, yet drying hands is just as important. It might be tempting to simply dry your hands off on your pants while exiting the restroom, but that means your hands may remain damp for several minutes. What many people do not know is that bacteria is more likely to spread through damp hands rather than dry hands, so making sure your hands are completely dry before leaving the restroom helps prevent illness even further. In busy restrooms paper towel dispensers can run out quickly, leaving people with no other choice than to skip hand drying. Automatic solar powered hand washing machine require very little maintenance, and with the development of no-touch technology, there is no need to touch any bacteria-laden surfaces in the process.

Cost: Due to the constant maintenance and refills that come along with paper towel dispensers, automatic hand dryers are cost-effective solutions. Not only must paper towels be refilled, but there are also costs associated with the production and clean-up of paper towels. For example additional trash bags and cleaning products are needed to dispose of the paper towels and reduce the spread of germs through towels left on counter tops. Automatic solar powered hand washing machine last several years and require little maintenance, decreasing the total cost for maintaining the restroom.

Waste: Automatic solar powered hand washing and drying machine also have more environmental benefits than paper towels. While some paper towels may be made of recycled materials, used paper towels cannot be recycled leading to an increase in waste and a continued destruction of trees for paper production. Switching to the use of automatic hand dryers in public restrooms can be helpful to reduce waste as well as energy.

1.9                                               LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Dealing with the limitation, the only limitation seen in automatic solar powered hand washing and drying machine is that:

1. The solar-powered hand washing operating costs are quite high compare to other means of hand washing system.
2. It cannot work properly when there is no sun shine or during cloudy weather.
3. It is equipped with two key devices, including a soap and water dispenser (disinfection dispenser) and hand dryer. The machine can accommodate three people simultaneously.

1.10                                       METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

1. Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
2. Draw a block diagram.

• Test for continuity of components and devices,

1. programming of microcontroller
2. Design and calculation for the work was carried out.
3. Studying of various component used in circuit.

• Construct the whole circuit.
• Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.11                                                      PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.