The other night, while pouring myself a glass of water in almost complete darkness, I was awaiting the tone that the water makes while entering the glass to know when it was nearly full. This got me thinking about how deaf people are probably oblivious to the joys of pouring themselves glasses of water in darkness, without getting wet hands.

I propose a device that listens for this tone, and stops the water flow upon hearing it. As it has the ability to stop the flow, I guess it may as well have the ability to start it, using a method not unlike hand driers that start automatically in toilets. This way it has the added bonus of not having to actually touch anything; sci-fi has pointed out we'll never again have to touch devices with our filthy hands to interface with them in the future (don't get me started on TV remotes)!

I realise that the key demographic I'm proposing is deaf people who want to pour glasses of water in darkness, this alone may not warrant the expense involved in manufacturing this contraption. Maybe somebody could recommend a more sane application for it. Anyone? Anyone?!
-- RoboBust, Sep 01 2003

useful in a pub during a powercut.
-- po, Sep 01 2003


Hehe, true, but of course there would be a manual override. Maybe even a UPS!

I hadn't really considered other beverages, and can't guarantee it would work, you know, with the added dynamics of the beer froth and whatnot. More viscous (therefore more silently pouring) drinks like thick shakes would definitely be out of the question though.
-- RoboBust, Sep 01 2003


Hmmmm. My Granny is registered blind and was offered a device that hooks over the side of a cup to let you know when it's full. She rejected the offer on the premise that she couldn't be bothered with newfangled stuff and continues to use her time-tested mehod of sticking her finger in the cup and stopping pouring when she scalds herself.

The beeping thingy wouldn't work for the deaf, of course. A flashing light perhaps, increasing in speed as the liquid rises.
-- squeak, Sep 01 2003


Increasing the speed of light?
-- FarmerJohn, Sep 01 2003


I suppose that could be an unforeseen side effect.. oh, you were talking about squeaks anno!
-- RoboBust, Sep 01 2003


These are baked. They have 'em in bars and restaurants already. Giving em to the disabled isn't a bad idea.
-- Madcat, Sep 01 2003


Don't different-sized glasses make a different pitch "tone" ?
-- DeathNinja, Sep 01 2003


and the distance from tap to glass.
-- po, Sep 01 2003


[Madcat] Are you sure they use the same method as the one I described? I think they work by already knowing the volume of the vessels that the liquid is intended for. Seeing though I'm not aware exactly how big the glass (or empty vegemite jar) I manage to find in the dark will be, that method isn't very helpful to me.

[DeathNinja] Yes they do, but the "almost full" pitch seems to be fairly close, unless you're dealing with vast size differences. Remember, we're just talking drinking vessels.

[po] That shouldn't really change the pitch should it? Another factor to take into consideration might be water pressure, but hopefully your friendly Automatic Glass Filling Tap installer would be able to configure it to suit your needs.

*sigh* When it comes down to it, this idea is absurd. squeaks Granny had the right idea, and a lot cheaper too. *shakes fist* You win this round, low tech!
-- RoboBust, Sep 01 2003


when your hand gets wet , stop.
-- cornpad, Aug 09 2004


I've never dried my hands in the toilet. The last time I tried that...

Surely, the practicality of your idea can't be holding you back from being confident on half bakery? This site is more of a collective brainstorming, and you shouldn't be so unsure of yourself.
-- kevinthenerd, Sep 15 2009


The pitch would follow a particular pattern for any given vessel. Even if we're not talking about the same absolute pitch, the relative pitch change would be fairly predictable. Since the flow rate would be generally known, one could extrapolate a sort-of asymptotic relationship and predict the "full" pitch for any particular cup.
-- kevinthenerd, Sep 15 2009


//using a method not unlike hand driers that start automatically in toilets//
Just think amusing evil thoughts...
-- coprocephalous, Sep 15 2009



random, halfbakery