Volatile material dispenser and method of emitting a volatile material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9278365-B2
Application number	US-201414225930-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2014
Priority date	Mar 26, 2014
Publication date	Mar 8, 2016
Grant date	Mar 8, 2016

Abstract

A method of dispensing a fragrance having at least one aroma chemical includes the step of providing a frame adapted to be attached to a dispenser for dispensing fluids and a cartridge including a volatile material containing a fragrance comprising at least one aroma chemical, wherein the cartridge is adapted for attachment to the frame. The method of dispensing further includes the steps of nebulizing water to create nebulized water particles, directing the nebulized water particles at the cartridge, and entraining volatile material from the cartridge in at least some of the nebulized water particles upon collision with the cartridge to create volatile material-infused water particles.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of dispensing a fragrance having at least one aroma chemical, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a frame adapted to be attached to a dispenser for dispensing fluids and a cartridge including a volatile material containing a fragrance comprising at least one aroma chemical, wherein the cartridge is adapted for attachment to the frame;
nebulizing water to create nebulized water particles;
directing the nebulized water particles at the cartridge; and
entraining volatile material from the cartridge in at least some of the nebulized water particles upon collision with the cartridge to create volatile material-infused water particles.

2. The method of dispensing of claim 1 , wherein the frame is attached to a dispenser and, after the nebulized water particles collide with the cartridge, some of the volatile material-infused water particles travel out of the dispenser and other of the volatile material-infused water particles condense on the cartridge and drip into a reservoir of the dispenser.

3. The method of dispensing of claim 1 , further including the steps of:
providing a dispenser including a housing having a reservoir adapted to hold water and a nebulizer in communication with the reservoir and the water within the reservoir;
positioning the nebulizer within a bottom wall of the reservoir;
spacing the cartridge from the bottom wall of the reservoir along a longitudinal axis of the dispenser; and
positioning the cartridge at an angle of between about −15 degrees and about 15 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the bottom wall of the reservoir.

4. The method of dispensing of claim 3 , wherein the step of positioning the cartridge includes positioning the cartridge at an angle of between about −5 degrees and about 5 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the bottom wall of the reservoir.

5. The method of dispensing of claim 2 , further including the steps of:
providing a fragrance with a plurality of aroma chemicals in the volatile material within the cartridge; and
passively emitting the aroma chemicals having a high volatility and a low solubility.

6. The method of dispensing of claim 5 , further including the step of:
nebulizing volatile material-infused water particles having aroma chemicals with a low volatility and a high solubility after the volatile-material infused water particles have returned to the reservoir.

7. The method of dispensing of claim 6 , wherein aroma chemicals having a low volatility and a low solubility and aroma chemicals having a high volatility and a high solubility are emitted in a manner that creates a least amount of resistance.

8. A volatile material dispenser, the dispenser including:
a frame adapted to be attached to a dispenser having an ultrasonic nebulizer for dispensing fluids; and
a cartridge containing a volatile material and adapted to be attached to the frame, wherein the frame is adapted to position the cartridge within the dispenser such that cartridge is in a path of nebulized fluid particles, whereby the cartridge acts as a baffle that filters out larger nebulized fluid particles emitted by the ultrasonic nebulizer.

9. The volatile material dispenser of claim 8 , further including:
a dispenser including a housing having a reservoir adapted to hold water;
an ultrasonic nebulizer in communication with the reservoir and the water within the reservoir, wherein the ultrasonic nebulizer is adapted to volatilize and emit the water as nebulized water particles;
wherein the frame is attached to a portion of the dispenser, the cartridge is attached to the frame, the ultrasonic nebulizer is disposed in a bottom wall of the reservoir, and the water is positioned in the reservoir between the ultrasonic nebulizer and the cartridge.

10. The volatile material dispenser of claim 9 , wherein the bottom wall of the reservoir and the cartridge are spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis of the dispenser, the bottom wall of the reservoir is generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and the cartridge is disposed at an angle of between about −15 degrees and about 15 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the bottom wall of the reservoir.

11. The volatile material dispenser of claim 10 , wherein the cartridge is disposed at an angle of between about −5 degrees and about 5 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the bottom wall of the reservoir.

12. The volatile material dispenser of claim 9 , wherein the cartridge includes a container holding the volatile material and a non-porous permeable membrane covering the container and holding the volatile material within the container.

13. The volatile material dispensing of claim 12 , wherein the cartridge is positioned in the volatile material dispenser with the non-permeable membrane facing the water within the reservoir and further facing the ultrasonic nebulizer.

14. The volatile material dispenser of claim 13 , wherein the frame includes at least one orienting feature that ensures the cartridge is inserted into the frame with the non-porous permeable membrane facing the water within the reservoir and facing the ultrasonic nebulizer.

15. The volatile material dispenser of claim 9 , further including a blower for moving volatile material directly from the cartridge and for moving volatile material-infused water particles out of the dispenser.

16. The volatile material dispenser of claim 8 , wherein the volatile material in the cartridge contains a fragrance comprising at least one aroma chemical.

17. The volatile material dispenser of claim 16 , wherein the volatile material in the cartridge is free of solvents and surfactants.

18. A volatile material dispenser, the dispenser including:
a housing having a reservoir adapted to hold water;
an ultrasonic nebulizer in communication with the reservoir and the water within the reservoir, wherein the ultrasonic nebulizer is adapted to volatilize and emit the water as nebulized water particles;
a cartridge containing a volatile material and positioned such that nebulized water particles from the ultrasonic nebulizer impinge upon the cartridge and entrain volatile material within the nebulized water particles, wherein the volatile material comprises a fragrance with at least one aroma chemical and the volatile material is free of solvents and surfactants.

19. The volatile material dispenser of claim 18 , wherein the ultrasonic nebulizer is disposed in a bottom wall of the reservoir, the bottom wall of the reservoir and the cartridge are spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis of the dispenser, the bottom wall of the reservoir is generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and the cartridge is disposed at an angle of between about −15 degrees and about 15 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the bottom wall of the reservoir.

20. The volatile material dispenser of claim 18 , wherein the cartridge includes a container holding the volatile material and a non-porous permeable membrane covering the container and holding the volatile material within the container and the cartridge is positioned in the volatile material dispenser with the non-porous permeable membrane facing the water and the ultrasonic nebulizer.

Assignees

• Johnson & Son Inc S C

Inventors

• Banco Michael J
• Tasz Maciej K
• Matter Jerome A

Classifications

• A61M2205/7536

  allowing gas passage, but preventing liquid passage, e.g. liquophobic, hydrophobic, water-repellent membranes · CPC title

• A61L2209/131

  Semi-permeable membranes · CPC title

• A61L9/05

  specially adapted to be released by contact with a liquid, e.g. for toilets · CPC title

• A61M15/0085

  using ultrasonics (spraying or atomising liquids using ultrasonic vibrations in general B05B17/06) · CPC title

• B05B17/0615

  spray being produced at the free surface of the liquid or other fluent material in a container and subjected to the vibrations · CPC title