Patent Application
20140126891
Two pending new application Ser. Nos. 13/543,490 and 13/549,493 filed on Jul. 15, 2012 are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to scent releasing devices and more specifically, to an aroma-diffusing apparatus that uses a disposable aroma capsule. 2. Description of the Related Art
Aroma-diffusing night lamp systems that combine a night lamp unit and an aroma diffuser unit for diffusing a good smell are known. U.S. Pat. No. 8,147,097B1 discloses a similar design. However, during application, the user needs to prepare a particular storage device for holding an aromatic wax or essential oil, and then to carefully pick up the aromatic wax or essential oil from the storage device and to put the aromatic wax or essential oil in an accommodation chamber of a ceramic or glass container above a lampshade of the aroma-diffusing night lamp system for heating by the radiating heat energy of a lamp bulb in the lampshade. During delivery of the aromatic wax or essential oil from the ceramic or glass container, the lamp bulb may be contaminated by the aromatic wax or essential oil accidentally. Further, when the aromatic wax or essential oil is used up, the user needs to clean the accommodation chamber of the ceramic or glass container, avoiding mixing of different aromatic substances or smells. Further, the ceramic or glass container is fragile, and can be broken easily during cleaning.
Further, an aroma-diffusing night lamp system may be equipped with a cable bracket or like member to avoid tangled electrical wires. Similar designs are seen in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/614,189 and 12/626,979. According to conventional cable bracket designs, electrical wires of lamp socket are curved and extended through a plurality of notches and holes at the cable bracket, and then extended out of the cable bracket for connection to a power source. When extending through the notches and holes of the cable bracket, the electrical wires are curved in a large angle, imparting stress to the molecular chains of the outer insulation of the electrical wires. Further, under the effect of waste heat from the lamp bulb, the mechanical strength of the insulative plastic material of the electrical wires will be lowered. After a long use, the curved area of the outer insulation of the electrical wires can be broken easily, losing its protective function.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an aroma-diffusing apparatus that eliminates the drawbacks of the aforesaid prior art designs.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide an aroma-diffusing apparatus, which utilizes the radiating heat of a lamp bulb to heat a disposable aroma capsule to give off fragrance, and allows replacement of the disposable aroma capsule when it is used up. It is another object of the present invention to provide an aroma-diffusing apparatus, which holds electrical wires in a smoothly curved manner against stretching, avoiding electrical wire damage.
To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, an aroma-diffusing apparatus comprises a housing defining a top opening, a lamp socket mounted inside the housing, a lamp bulb installed in the lamp socket, and an aroma capsule detachably accommodated in the top opening of the housing and heatable by radiating heat from the lamp bulb to give off fragrance. The aroma capsule comprises a heat-transfer container accommodated in the top opening of the housing and defining a top opening, and an aromatic substance held in said disposable heat-transfer container.
Further, the aroma-diffusing apparatus comprises a breathing film bonded to the disposable heat-transfer container to keep the aromatic substance in the disposable heat-transfer container, and a sealing film bonded to the disposable heat-transfer container over the breathing film.
Further, the disposable heat-transfer container is selected from the material group of metal, hard plastics, fibers and compound materials.
Further, the lamp socket has electrical wires electrically connected to respective electrodes therein for connection to power source. Further, a high tensile strength cable bracket is affixed to the electrical socket for securing the electrical wires. The high tensile strength cable bracket is a plate member comprising a mounting lug fixedly connected to the lamp socket, a planar panel, a sloping panel obliquely connected between the mounting lug and the planar panel, a first cable-retaining notch and a second cable-retaining notch respectively and symmetrically located on two opposite lateral sides of the sloping panel, and a third cable-retaining notch and a fourth cable-retaining notch respectively and symmetrically located on two opposite lateral sides of the planar panel.
Referring to
Further, the aromatic substance 75 can be solid aromatic wax, essential oil, or perfume.
Further, commercial aroma diffusers are commonly capable of diffusing an aromatic smell when heated to the temperature of 35˜75° C. In this embodiment, the aromatic substance 75 is aromatic wax. The lamp bulb 8 can heat the aroma capsule 7 to the temperature of 35˜75° C., causing the aroma capsule 7 to diffuse a good smell into the outside open air. Under this temperature range, the disposable heat-transfer container 71 will not melt or deform, and can efficiently transfer heat energy produced by the lamp bulb 8 to the aromatic substance 75. The disposable heat-transfer container 71 can be a thin metal film container, a hard plastic container, or a fiber bowl made of a plant fiber such as corn fiber, glass fiber or carbon fiber, or a container of a composite material.
Preferably, the disposable heat-transfer container 71 is made of aluminum film, having the characteristics of lightweight, thin wall thickness and good heat conductivity. Thus, the disposable heat-transfer container 71 can transfer heat energy produced by the lamp bulb 8 to the aromatic substance 75 rapidly, causing the aromatic substance 75 to diffuse a good smell. Further, the disposable heat-transfer container 71 is tough and not easily breakable, eliminating the fragile drawback of ceramic or glass containers that are commonly used in conventional aroma diffusers for holding an essential oil. Further, the sealing film 72 seals the solid aromatic substance 75 in the disposable heat-transfer container 71, maintaining the quality of the aromatic substance 75. Further, the aromatic substance 75 is sealed in the disposable heat-transfer container 71 but not carried in an ordinary container. When using the aromatic substance 75, the user simply needs to remove the sealing film 72 from the disposable heat-transfer container 71 without touching the aromatic substance 75. Further, after the aromatic substance 75 is used up, the user can remove the disposable heat-transfer container 71 from the top opening 11 of the housing 1, and then put a new aroma capsule 7 in the top opening 11 of the housing 1 to replace the used aroma capsule without the necessity of cleaning the used aroma capsule. Further, because the disposable heat-transfer container 71 is made of aluminum foil, it is not breakable. Thus, the user needs not to worry about breaking down the disposable heat-transfer container 71. Further, the user needs not to prepare an extra container for holding the solid aromatic substance 75.
Further, the breathing film 70 is selected from the material group of fabric, fiber cloth, porous plastic membrane and porous metal foil, and adapted to guide diffusing aromatic smell upwardly through open spaces therein toward the outside open air. An user can remove the sealing film 72 from the disposable heat-transfer container 71 conveniently, and then put the disposable heat-transfer container 71 in the top opening 11 of the housing 1, enabling the aromatic substance 75 of the aroma capsule 7 to be heated by the lamp bulb 8 to release a pleasant smell. If the aroma-diffusing apparatus falls to the floor accidentally, the breathing film 70 still can retain the molten aromatic substance, preventing the molten aromatic substance from flowing to the lamp bulb 8 and the lamp socket 2 or to wet the internal circuit of the lamp socket 2, avoiding contamination and ensuring a high level of safety.
Referring to
Each of the cable-retaining notches 331;333;531;533 defines a mouth C. The mouth C has a width relatively shorter than the internal width of the respective cable-retaining notch 331;333;531;533, facilitating quick positioning of electrical wires in the cable-retaining notches 331;333;531;533. Further, through holes can be formed in the sloping panel 33 and the planar panel 35 instead of the cable-retaining notches 331;333;531;533 for securing electrical wires.
Referring to
Thus, the first electrical cable 4 and the second electrical cable 5 are respectively secured to the first and third cable-retaining notches 331;351 of the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 and the second and fourth cable-retaining notches 333;353 of the high tensile strength cable bracket 3, avoiding curving in a large angle. When the electrical wires 4;5 are stretched by an external force, the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 transfer the stretching force to the lamp socket 2, avoiding disconnection of the electrical wires 4;5 from the electrodes E of the lamp socket 2.
Referring to
Referring to
Further, another binding strap 6 can be fastened to the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 to hold down the first electrical cable 4 in the second cable-retaining notch 351 of the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 and the second electrical cable 5 in the fourth cable-retaining notch 353.
Further, the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 is prepared by a thermal conductive plate member. When viewed from one side, the high tensile strength cable bracket 3 shows a substantially Z-shaped configuration for supporting the first electrical wire 4 and the second electrical wire 5 in a smoothly curved manner, avoiding internal conductor damage.
Although particular embodiment of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
