Photo: USPTO
The last few years have turned keeping our hands clean into a global obsession, even though, let’s be honest about it, we were supposed to do this with or without a global health crisis anyway.
As such, companies out there have also tried to align their products with the new demands, and this is how we ended up getting all kinds of revolutionary devices supposed to help us cleanse bacteria and viruses.
The automotive industry too expanded on this front, and now Japanese carmaker Toyota seems to be looking into a new idea to help drivers avoid getting any kind of microorganisms on their hands when opening the doors of their cars.
While it does look like Toyota is a little bit late to the party, the company has recently been granted a patent for a new idea called “vehicle door handle sanitizing system.” Truth be told, Toyota filed the patent application in June 2020 at a time when we were all still fighting the invisible enemy that forced us to stay away from each other.
Issued on January 24, 2023, the patent describes an idea that does exactly what its name suggests it does. The vehicle door handle sanitizing system includes a dedicated nozzle connected to a sanitizer dispenser that automatically sprays the cleaning material onto the exterior surface of the door handle.
The whole thing has a very simple purpose: by keeping the door handle clean, drivers should no longer be concerned about viruses and bacteria that could get on their hands when stepping into the car. As it turns out, quite a lot of people were wiping down the door handles before and after every use, so Toyota’s new concept could come in handy in this regard.
The technology can be further enhanced with more advanced solutions. For example, sensors that are integrated into the handle can let the system know when the sanitizing material needs to be sprayed again, either after it detects that someone used it or even when it gets dirty. Furthermore, additional components can also be installed, such as a warning light to let the driver know when the dispenser needs a refill.
Toyota’s idea isn’t necessarily ridiculous given the modern-world problems we’re being forced to deal with, but it’s important to keep in mind that everything is still in the patent stage. In other words, there’s no guarantee that such a concept would ever make it to production models, and at some level, I doubt that Toyota would continue to invest in this system anyway.
The pandemic is more or less a thing of the past, and from a cost perspective, it may not make much sense for the Japanese carmaker to install such a system on its vehicles. Time will tell, however, if the company wants to pursue this idea.
The automotive industry too expanded on this front, and now Japanese carmaker Toyota seems to be looking into a new idea to help drivers avoid getting any kind of microorganisms on their hands when opening the doors of their cars.
While it does look like Toyota is a little bit late to the party, the company has recently been granted a patent for a new idea called “vehicle door handle sanitizing system.” Truth be told, Toyota filed the patent application in June 2020 at a time when we were all still fighting the invisible enemy that forced us to stay away from each other.
Issued on January 24, 2023, the patent describes an idea that does exactly what its name suggests it does. The vehicle door handle sanitizing system includes a dedicated nozzle connected to a sanitizer dispenser that automatically sprays the cleaning material onto the exterior surface of the door handle.
The whole thing has a very simple purpose: by keeping the door handle clean, drivers should no longer be concerned about viruses and bacteria that could get on their hands when stepping into the car. As it turns out, quite a lot of people were wiping down the door handles before and after every use, so Toyota’s new concept could come in handy in this regard.
The technology can be further enhanced with more advanced solutions. For example, sensors that are integrated into the handle can let the system know when the sanitizing material needs to be sprayed again, either after it detects that someone used it or even when it gets dirty. Furthermore, additional components can also be installed, such as a warning light to let the driver know when the dispenser needs a refill.
Toyota’s idea isn’t necessarily ridiculous given the modern-world problems we’re being forced to deal with, but it’s important to keep in mind that everything is still in the patent stage. In other words, there’s no guarantee that such a concept would ever make it to production models, and at some level, I doubt that Toyota would continue to invest in this system anyway.
The pandemic is more or less a thing of the past, and from a cost perspective, it may not make much sense for the Japanese carmaker to install such a system on its vehicles. Time will tell, however, if the company wants to pursue this idea.
Google News