Patent Application
20200122554
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure and prior art relates to humidifying devices and more particularly pertains to a new humidifying device for humidifying a user's eyes during automotive travel.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing that can be gripped by a user during automotive travel and the housing has a vapor aperture extending therein. A reservoir is provided that contains a fluid and the reservoir is removably coupled to the housing. A pump is positioned within the housing and the reservoir is placed in fluid communication with the pump when the reservoir is positioned in the housing. An atomizer is positioned within the housing and the atomizer converts the fluid in the reservoir into a vapor when the pump is turned on. Thus, the vapor aperture releases the vapor for moistening the user's eyes. A funnel is coupled to the housing and the funnel is in fluid communication with the vapor aperture. The funnel can be positioned proximate one of the user's eyes for directing the vapor into the user's eye thereby facilitating the user's eye to be moistened.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A reservoir 28 is included that contains a fluid 30, such as water or other fluid that is non-toxic to the human eye. The reservoir 28 is removably positioned in the well 24 and the reservoir 28 has an outlet 32. The outlet 32 is removably coupled to the reservoir 28 for filling the reservoir 28 with the fluid 30. A pump 34 is positioned within the housing 12, and the pump 34 has an input 36 and an output 38. The outlet 32 on the reservoir 28 is placed in fluid communication with the input 36 when the reservoir 28 is positioned in the well 24. In this way the pump 34 can draw the fluid out of the reservoir 28 when the pump 34 is turned on. The pump 34 may be an electric fluid pump 34 or the like.
An atomizer 40 is positioned within the housing 12 and the atomizer 40 is fluidly coupled between the output 38 of the pump 34 and the vapor aperture 26. The atomizer 40 converts the fluid 30 in the reservoir 28 into a vapor 42 when the pump 34 is turned on. In this way the vapor aperture 26 can release the vapor 42 for moistening the user's eyes 44. The atomizer 40 may be a fluid atomizer 40 of any conventional design commonly associated with household humidifiers or the like.
A funnel 46 is coupled to the housing 12 and the funnel 46 is in fluid communication with the vapor aperture 26. The funnel 46 has a front end 48, a back end 50 and an outside wall 52 extending therebetween, and the outside wall 52 flares outwardly between the back end 50 and the front end 48. The back end 50 is coupled to the front side 20 of the outer wall 18 of the housing 12 having the back end 50 being aligned with the vapor aperture 26. The front end 48 can be positioned proximate one of the user's eyes for directing the vapor 42 into the user's eye thereby facilitating the user's eye to be moistened. A cushion 54 is coupled to and is coextensive with the front end 48 of the funnel 46 for enhancing comfort for the user. Additionally, the outside wall 52 of the funnel 46 may be comprised of a translucent material.
A cover 56 is removably coupled to the housing 12 for enclosing the reservoir 28. The cover 56 is aligned with the well 24 when the cover 56 is removably coupled to the housing 12. An on button 58 is movably coupled to the housing 12 and the on button 58 is electrically coupled to the pump 34 for turning the pump 34 on. An off button 60 is movably coupled to the housing 12 and the off button 60 is electrically coupled to the pump 34 for tuning the pump 34 off.
A power supply 62 is removably positioned within the housing 12 and the power supply 62 is electrically coupled to the pump 34. The power supply 62 comprises at least one battery 64 and a plurality of charge ports 66. Each of the charge ports 66 is electrically coupled to the at least one battery 64 and the charge ports 66 are recessed into the second end 16 of the housing 12. The plurality of charge ports 66 can be electrically coupled to a power source 68 for charging the battery 64, and the plurality of charge ports 66 may include a usb port and a micro usb port.
A support 70 is provided that has a plate 72, a saddle 74 and a member 76 extending between the plate 72 and the saddle 74. The plate 72 may include an adhesive for adhesively engaging a surface in the automobile. The housing 12 can be placed in the saddle 74 for storage in a vehicle that does not have a cup holder. The member 76 may undulate downwardly between the plate 72 and the saddle 74 to inhibit the funnel 46 from contacting the member 76 when the housing 12 is positioned in the saddle 74.
In use, the reservoir 28 is filled with the fluid 30, the reservoir 28 is positioned in the well 24 and the cover 56 is coupled to the housing 12 to close the well 24. The housing 12 is gripped and the on button 58 is manipulated to turn the pump 34 on and thusly urge the vapor 42 outwardly through the funnel 46. The funnel 46 is directed toward one of the user's eyes to direct the vapor 42 onto the user's eye thereby moistening the user's eye. In this way an individual that suffers from a dry eye condition can relieve symptoms of the dry eye condition during automotive travel. Thus, dry eye conditions that may be caused by heating and air conditioning systems in an automobile can be treated without having to turn off the heating and air conditioning system in the automobile.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
