Patent Application
20120261484
This disclosure relates to influencing airborne matter, and, more particularly, to introducing fragrant matter in an airspace.
Products can be developed to deliver scents or aromas in a commercial or office environment, such as in a retail environment. The scents can improve a customer's perception of the store, the environment and the products, and can make the customer want to revisit the store to buy something. Scents and systems can be customized to reflect and complement various brands, moods or environments.
Generally, embodiments feature fragrance diffusion systems and methods. In some general aspects, a system for fragrancing air includes an adjustable fan that is used to generate an airflow to push a diffused fragrance in a particular direction from an output orifice of the system. The fragrance can be generated from atomized fragrance oil, where liquid fragrance oil is stored in a cartridge bottle assembly and then atomized using compressed air in a collector assembly in the system. When the system is mounted on a wall or ceiling, the adjustable fan can be used to direct the fragrance downward at any number of angles from the system. The system may be programmed to adjust a fan speed and various settings of the fragrance delivery.
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the example enumerated embodiments.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings can indicate like elements.
The details of various example embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding. It will be apparent, however, that the embodiments may be generally practiced without these specific details. Other features, objects, and aspects are apparent from the description and drawings.
Scent delivery systems can be developed to use atomization technology that releases a fragrance without sprays, or heated oils. The scent delivery systems can produce no messy residue to stain or damage floors or merchandise, so that scents can be delivered in a clean, controlled way. The scent delivery systems may require very little to no maintenance, other than adding or exchanging sealed fragrance cartridges for scents when the system is low or empty of liquids. The scent delivery system may be mounted onto a ceiling or a wall in locations where a person is likely to smell the fragrance, such as in a doorway, a hallway, behind or above a checkout counter, behind or above merchandise in a store, behind or above a receptionist's desk, a lobby room, or in a foyer, for example.
The fan 302 can be used to assist in the projection of the diffused fragrance vapor into the airspace outside of the system. In this system, the residual airflow from the compressed air output that is used to atomize the fragrance oil can be used to push out the diffused fragrance into the airspace, and the fan can be used to provide an additional air flow to push the fragrance across the airspace, thus delivering a more complete and consistent fragrance for a person to smell the fragrance. The fan assist feature also can eliminate the visual presence of a vapor cloud that is caused by the atomized fragrance as it departs the apparatus.
The fan 302 may have variable speeds to push the scent short or long distances from the system by increasing or decreasing the airflow and air speed of the fan 302. If the fragrance diffusion system is installed in a large area, for example, the fan speed can be adjusted to a high speed to push out the fragrance farther into the room. If the system is installed in a small area, such as in a small room, the fan speed may be adjusted to be at a lower speed since it may not take as much of an air flow to diffuse the fragrance into the smaller area. Depending on the type of fan 302 and the noise of the fan 302, the fan speed may be adjusted so that air flow can be provided in a space where the noise of the fan 302 is not noticeable to people in the room. In some implementations, for example, the fan 302 may be set at a fan speed that produces an air velocity of 370 ft/min. In some implementations, the fan 302 may be designed as a low-profile and compact design to fit inside the fan chassis 301, and may be designed to be a low-noise fan. In some implementations, the compact, low-profile design of the fan 302 can assist in enhancing the adjustability and maximum angle of the fan 302 in the fan bracket 304.
By providing the fan 302 in the system, in addition to the compressed air diffusing into the lower pressure airspace outside the system, the system can be mounted and placed into locations where it may not normally be placed when compared to using only an airflow resulting from a difference in pressure. The fan can also help the fragrance to be directed in a particular direction. The direction of the airflow from the fan 302 can also be adjusted by a lockable fan adjustment thumb screw 303. For instance, to allow for installation of the system at various heights by the user, the adjustable fan 302 can allow the user to adjust the air flow direction vertically for the best direction for the delivery of fragrance into the air space being scented. The fan 302 can be secured with a pivot point in the fan chassis 301 and can be adjusted up or down vertically with the use of the fan adjustment thumb screw 303 to tilt the fan in the preferred direction of the air flow. The fan adjustment thumb screw 303 can be tightened to fix the direction of the air flow. In some implementations, the fan 302 can be adjusted in a number of angles, such as anywhere from 0° to 30° downward, for example. The fan 302 can be adjusted in other angles in other implementations, such as by 45° downward or more from vertical for the system.
By having the fan 302 direction to be adjustable, the entire system does not have to be tilted to direct the fragrance in a particular direction. If the system was tilted, then there is a chance that the liquid oil would leak out of the system and onto the floor below. Also, a tilted system may not efficiently atomize the oil or provide an aesthetically-pleasing design. The location of the fan 302 in the system is at the output of the air exit at the fan chassis 301, and can be substantially flush with the outside front housing 710 of the fragrance system. The fan chassis 301 has a slot 312 located at a bottom area of the air exit to receive a fragrance from an output orifice 409 of the collector assembly 401 on the cartridge bottle assembly 400. The air pushed at the fan 302 can be air that has a lower pressure than the air coming from the output orifice 409. By having the slot 312 in the bottom on the fan chassis 301, the air flow from the fan can directly assist in pushing the fragrance away from the system. The fan chassis 301 can be used to channel the fragrance at the opening 750 of the outside front housing 710 of the fragrance diffusion system.
In other implementations (not shown), the fan 302 may remain stationary in the system, and the angle the output orifice 409 on the collector assembly 401 may be adjustable to change a direction of air flow from the system. In some other implementations, the fan chassis 301 can be adjusted independently of the fan 302 so that the fan chassis 301 may be enhance and/or channel the direction of the air flow.
The PCB box 309 has a PCB box face plate 310, which can be used to provide a mechanism for displaying and/or receiving information for controlling the operation of the fragrance diffusion system. The PCB box face plate 310 may have a glass, plastic, or transparent-like cover to display information regarding a status and controls for the operation of the fragrance diffusion system, and may be able to receive instructions from a user, or be configured with a slot or opening to receive a portable memory card (e.g., a flash memory card) that may contain operational data and/or system settings. The display may be presented, for example, in a liquid crystal display screen (LCD), in which some implementations may be able to have a touch-screen display to receive an input from a user. Some of the information that may be displayed, for example, may include an estimate of an amount of liquid oil left in the cartridge bottle, a time period for providing a short burst of fragrance into the air outside of the, and/or a programmable system for delivering the fragrance over an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly schedule. For example, the controls for the fragrance diffusion system can be used for cycling the air pump that drives the atomizer on and off. In some implementations, for instance, the control settings can provide at least 50 different combinations of duty cycles and cycle lengths to better suit the desired average amount and timing of fragrance delivery into the air. The controls may also allow for at least 10 periods of fragrance delivery to be scheduled during a calendar week, for example. The occurrences of air delivery can be set as an “event” in the system, which can be associated with settings for the fragrance delivery, including both the duty cycle and the cycle length. The duty cycle can be the amount of time in the cycle length of fragrance delivery. The duty cycle and cycle length can be predetermined or adjusted by the user, for example, based upon the room or the environmental conditions for fragrance delivery. For example, an area with a large space may have a long time for airflow and/or a high speed for the fan to deliver the fragrance into the airspace at a greater rate than would be the case for a small room. The small area, for example, may have short time for airflow and/or a low speed for the fan to deliver the fragrance into the airspace.
Information serving as input into the system may be added by a user of the system, who can program settings using the interface in the PCB box 309, or the user can download instructions and settings onto the portable memory card and insert the memory card into the system. The user of the system may also refer to a service technician for the system.
The controls can allow for the fan speed to be varied, where the fan speed can be adjusted to be configured to the conditions of the airspace of the room and the noise generated from the fan. For example, a system that is mounted on a high ceiling may have controls configured such that the system has a high fan speed since the fragrance can be forcefully diffused into a large airspace without people noticing the noise generated from the fan. Whereas, the fan speed may be lower in a smaller and/or a quiet room.
Also, the controls can allow for the air pump to be adjusted so that different amounts of air pressure and resulting airflow can be utilized. For example, the air for the air pump can be adjusted to change a rate of diffusion of fragrance oil from the system, and or may be adjusted to allow for different physical characteristics of different fragrance oils to be used with the system. Some implementations of the system also may be able to have detector (not shown) to detect an amount of fragrance that is delivered into an airspace, and may be able to provide feedback to the system such that the airspace is not continuously saturated with the fragrance.
The collector assembly 401 is formed with a D-shaped collector self alignment feature that allows the user to slide the collector assembly 401 into place where it aligns the collector assembly's nozzle 105 to the air adapter 502 located in the bottom main chassis 503. A D-shaped guide plate 504 in the bottom chassis assembly 500 can allow for a single orientation of the collector assembly 401 to the guide plate 504. In some implementations, the guide plate 410 may have some other shape than a D-shape. Dual-levers 501 for the cam lock mechanism 506 may provide for a convenient one-hand insertion and lock of the fragrance cartridge bottle assembly 400. The cam lock mechanism 506 also can provide a convenient one-hand unlock and cartridge removal action that may not require any tools for the unlocking and/or the removal.
The fragrance diffusion system can use a replaceable cartridge bottle assembly 400 with the output orifice 409 attached to the collector top 406. The output orifice 409 can be aligned such that when the collector assembly 401 is self aligned upon insertion by the D-shaped guide plate alignment mechanism 410, the output orifice 409 can be configured such that the fragrance output is centered on the slot 312 at the air flow from the fan chassis assembly 301, which can result in an evenly-distributed fragrance as it leaves the housing assembly 700.
The fragrance diffusion system includes the intake muffler assembly 507 that can serve as an input air filter and a noise muffler. The dimensional characteristics of the muffler chamber can act to suppress the air intake noise from the air pump. The muffler assembly 507 can have one or more unique chambers that cancel most of the noise generated by the air intake of the air pump.
The system includes a seal feature for multiple O-rings 403, 404 on the compressed air input to the collector assembly's nozzle 405 to help overcome a corrosive nature of most fragrance oils. For example, some fragrance oils can break down plastics over time, and the reliability of the collector assembly 401 can be reduced if the O-rings 403, 404 and/or the nozzle 405 becomes wet with the liquid fragrance oil. In this implementation, the fittings for the multiple O-rings 403, 404 can be designed to be progressively larger in size to create multiple levels of isolation from the fragrance oil and to enhance the reliability of the seals. The o-rings 403, 404 are part of the replaceable collector assembly 401 so that each time the collector assembly 401 (or cartridge bottle assembly 400) is replaced a new set of O-rings 403, 404 can be used. Service problems resulting from defective O-rings can be reduced by designing the system such that the O-rings are included as part of the replaceable cartridge. A stainless steel air adapter 502 attached to the guide plate 504 can help ensure that the system is not damaged by the corrosiveness of the fragrance oil.
Some implementations may have a cap (not shown) to cover the opening of the nozzle 405 during for use during shipping. The cap may be able to withstand a force of the fragrance oil moving in transit while keeping the O-rings 403, 404 free from the corrosive fragrance oil. A threaded cap with plug can be designed to keep the oil away from the O-rings 403, 404. This treaded cap and plug can enhance the shelf life of the O-rings and reducing and/or eliminating air leaks during use as a result of having one of the O-rings being damaged by the fragrance oil.
To prepare the collector assembly 400 for shipping, the output orifice 409 may not be installed during shipping, but can be installed when the system is ready for use. The output orifice 409 may be detachable, and may be installed at an angle with respect to the collector top 406. The angle of the output orifice 409 can generally be at any angle, so as long as the output orifice 409 directs the air flow in a proper direction out of the system. During shipping, a plug may be inserted in the collector assembly 401 when the output orifice 409 is removed to prevent any damage from any movement or liquid fragrance oil. In some implementations, the angle of the output orifice 409 may be 45° with respect to the collector top 406, for example. The output orifice 409 can be designed such that it is not too short for the fragrance to be diffused from the system. The output orifice 409 may not also be too long so that the diffused fragrance would not be close enough to mix with the air from the fan's output.
Some implementations of the fragrance diffusion system can involve generating a scented mist of atomized liquid fragrance oil. The system may include an atomizer complex in the collector assembly 401 to the atomize liquid fragrance oil into scented particles and deliver the scented particles to air outside of the atomizer complex, where the scented particles that are not delivered to the air outside of the atomizer complex are coalesced and returned to the bottle 402. The nozzle 405 can be configured to receive the compressed air from the air pump. The device can include a drainage tube (not shown) extending from a bottom area of the atomizer complex into the liquid fragrance oil, where the drainage tube can include a vacuum tube (not shown) inside of the drainage tube (or outside and parallel to the drainage tube) that extends along a longitudinal length down the drainage tube. The drainage tube can be configured to at least contact a level of the liquid fragrance oil in the bottle 402. The drainage tube can be configured so that the collected oil from the atomizer complex drains down the drainage tube into the liquid fragrance oil in the cartridge bottle assembly 400. The device can be configured to filter the liquid fragrance oil in the cartridge bottle assembly 400 and the collected oil from the atomizer complex that drained down the drainage tube. The vacuum tube can be configured to suction the filtered liquid fragrance oil and/or the collected oil in the bottle 402 into the atomizer complex for atomization. Except for the atomized liquid fragrance oil that is delivered into the air as the scented fragrance, the device can be configured to constantly recirculate the oil in the device so that the oil remaining in the device is constantly filtered.
The nozzle 8 can be pressed against the collector top 10 via the input tube 3 to create a seal without a gasket between the two conical surfaces, and to align an exit for the nozzle 8 with the output orifice 409 on the collector top 10. The output cap 9 can prevent an oil spill while the collector assembly 401 is being stored and shipped, for example. The input cap 2 can be configured to screw onto the input tube 3 and create a seal with a dimple on the input cap 2 and the air line in the input tube 3. The seal created by the input cap 2 on the input tube 3 can be useful, for example, during storage and shipping to prevent an oil spill. The collector top 10 can have a molded output tube and can be attached to the input tube 3. A seal can be created between the collector top 10 and the collector bottom 14 via the o-ring 11, for which the seal can prevent low pressure fragranced air from exiting the input tube 3 anywhere except at the output tube on the collector top 10. The collector center 12 can be pressed to fit into the funnel 13 via the collector top 10, and can be used to aid in separating the larger particles from the smaller particles. The funnel 13 can sit in the collector bottom 14 and can act to capture large particles and prevent the large particles from leaving the collector assembly 401. The collector bottom 14 may form a main part of the body of the collector assembly 401, and the collector bottom 14 can be the part of the collector assembly where the fragranced air is collected before the fragranced air exits from the output tube.
The front housing 710 has an opening 750 to receive the fan chassis 301 and output orifice 409. The opening 750 has a shelf 755 that can include an absorbent material (not shown) that can collect any condensed fragrance oil from the output of the system. The collected, condensed fragrance oil on the absorbent area of the shelf 755 may be evaporated by the air from fan 302 and sent out of the opening 750. The location of the opening 750 is not limited to the implementation shown in the drawings, but can be made generally near anywhere in the front and back housings 710, 720.
In some implementations, the bottle 402 may be designed such that the fragrance oil in the bottle 402 may not be refillable by a user, but the bottle 402 may have to be ordered and replaced by a manufacturer or distributor of the bottle with a supply of liquid fragrance oil inside of the bottle 402.
Some of the described embodiments of the subject matter and the operations can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, which is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. The data processing apparatus may include the sensor, may be part of the sensor, may be a part of a system with the sensor, may be integrated within the system and/or sensor, may be part of receivers, transmitters, components and/or logic associated with the sensor or the receivers and/or transmitters, or any combination thereof. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium itself is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate physical components or media (e.g., other storage devices). Some of the operations described in this specification can be implemented as operations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or received from other sources.
Various apparatuses, devices, and machines for processing data, may be used as a “data processing apparatus,” including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The apparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment can realize various different computing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.
A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.
The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform actions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).
Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and an input device, such as a pointing device, a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.
Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.
Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be useful.
Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other embodiments are possible. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. It should be appreciated that disclosed embodiments may encompass equivalents and substitutes for one or more of the example techniques described herein. The present specification describes specific examples to accomplish a more general goal in another way. This description should be understood to represent example embodiments and the following are intended to cover any equivalent, modification or alternative. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following example enumerated embodiments and claims.
Although the present invention is described above and defined in the attached claims, it should be understood that the present invention can alternatively also be defined in accordance with the following embodiments:
Other modifications are within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/366,027, filed on Jul. 20, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120018530 A1 | Jan 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61/366,027 | Jul 2010 | US |
