Patent Application
20100266266
The present invention refers in general to evaporator devices for volatile substances for closed spaces.
In more specific terms, the invention relates to an evaporator device for volatile substances, preferably for vehicles, which is activated by means of the movement of the actual device, the object being to guarantee that the device only evaporates the volatile substance when the vehicle is in use or occupied.
There are many types of evaporation devices for volatile substances, generally air-fresheners and/or insecticides, which utilise a wick, a spray, a permeable membrane, gel or impregnated paper as the medium for the evaporation of said substance.
These appliances need means which allow their activation by the user, and in some applications means for the automatic activation or deactivation, for which reason they employ light sensors to select different uses of the device during the day and at night, or to activate the evaporator for example when the user is present.
In certain applications like for example for the diffusion of a volatile substance inside a vehicle, the known sensor-equipped devices do not offer satisfactory benefits, since they do not only detect the presence of movement or luminous conditions inside the vehicle, but are also sensitive to movements or light conditions outside the vehicle, for example a person passing on foot near the vehicle.
Thus the known devices with automatic operation are not appropriate for their use in a vehicle in that the mere proximity of a person to the vehicle can initiate the evaporation of the substance, producing an unnecessary waste thereof and an unpleasant aromatic saturation inside the vehicle.
An aspect of the invention relates to an evaporator device for volatile substances which comprises a casing and means for the diffusion of an active substance supported by said casing. The device is characterized in that it comprises at least a movement sensor of said casing, whereby said diffusion means are operable by means of said sensor, in such a way that the diffusion means are put into operation or the effect thereof is enhanced, either by means of increasing the speed of a fan, raising the temperature of a heater, a change in the frequency of pulses, or in the activation of some secondary means of diffusion.
The movement sensor is integral with the casing and detects the movement of the appliance or of the device, not the movement of an object which is moving close to the same, whereby it is guaranteed that the diffusion of the volatile substance takes place only when the user is in the vehicle, therefore saving unnecessary consumption of the same and avoiding saturating the interior of the vehicle.
To supplement the description that is being made and with the object of assisting in a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof, attached as an integral part of said description, is a set of drawings wherein by way of illustration and not restrictively, the following has been represented:
FIG. 1.—It shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of an evaporator device according to the invention, where the upper part of the casing has not been represented to allow visualization of its interior.
FIG. 2.—It shows a perspective view of the device of
FIG. 3.—It shows another perspective view and in exploded form of the same device.
FIG. 4.—It shows another view in perspective and In exploded form of the same device.
FIG. 5.—It shows an electrical schematic of this device.
FIG. 6.—It shows a view in perspective and in exploded form of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7.—It shows individual views in perspective of the device of
In a preferred embodiment the diffusion means consists of a fan, and the volatile substance situated in a cartridge equipped with permeable membrane. Some programmable electronic means control the activation of the diffusion elements, in this case the fan, taking into consideration the detection of the movement sensor.
Thus, when a user enters his car and puts it in movement, the movement sensor will detect the movement of the vehicle and in turn the electronic means connected to the sensor, will act on the fan, either to make it work or to increase its speed.
The electronic means can be programmed to maintain the fan in operation during a period of time or to allow the operation thereof during preset cycles of time or as selected by the user.
The fan is activated by means of batteries, for that the device also has indication means that are activated when the battery charge is consumed, like an LED diode for example which lights or flashes in such an eventuality.
When the vehicle moves, the movement sensor detects such circumstance and the electronic means associated with the sensor are activated in response to said detection and produces an electric signal to act on the diffusion means to allow, start or enhance the evaporation of the volatile substance.
The movement or vibration sensor can consist for example of an accelerometer.
The electronic means are programmed to maintain the activation state of the diffusion means during a certain time, after which if the movement sensor has ceased to detect the movement of the vehicle, it disconnects the diffusion elements.
The volatile substance can be held in any known type of container, like a container for example with permeable membrane, or a bottle with a wick partially immersed therein. The diffusion means can also be of any known type, like for example heater elements, fan, spray with solenoid-valve, piezoelectric mist generator, etc. The casing can have means that prevent contact with the membrane or wick.
The casing is provided with means that allow its fastening on any internal surface of a vehicle, like the interior part of a door, the sunshade or a seat for example.
In
The electronic means are mounted on a printed circuit board (4), which is powered by means of some batteries (5), for example button batteries or conventional batteries. A switch (6) allows the user to connect or disconnect the device.
In this preferred embodiment, the diffusion means consist of a fan (7) arranged to blow air onto said membrane and activate or begin the evaporation of the volatile substance, governed by the electronic means which in turn are activated by the movement sensor (8). A light-emitting diode or LED (15) indicates the operational state of the device.
Especially in
The fan (7) is operated by a direct current motor (17), and in its mounting inside the casing (1) it is situated between two (18, 18′) deflecting baffles which have an arched shaped and are arranged so that they direct the air flow driven by the fan toward the bottom part of the container (2).
In
The batteries (5) feed the microcontroller and the battery-low detector (12).
In the embodiment of
The container (2) of the volatile substance can be any type of known container, like for example a container with permeable membrane.
Diverse possibilities of practical embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims enclosed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P200702226 | Aug 2007 | ES | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP07/58816 | 8/24/2007 | WO | 00 | 6/23/2010 |
