Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – For deodorizing of – or chemical purification of – or... – Including means adding material into environmental gas
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-25
2003-12-16
Thornton, Krisanne (Department: 1744)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
For deodorizing of, or chemical purification of, or...
Including means adding material into environmental gas
C422S004000, C422S005000, C422S120000, C422S123000, C422S126000, C431S344000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06663838
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to dispensers for volatiles such as scents, insect control active ingredients, and the like. In particular, it relates to such dispensers that use a fuel burner.
There are a variety of known dispensers for volatiles that employ heat from a flame or from catalyzed combustion to dispense volatiles from volatile-impregnated substrates. Citronella candles mix the volatile into the fuel itself. However, this leaves the candle flame exposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 692,075 shows the use of heat from the flame of a conventional oil lamp to dispense volatile ingredients held exposed to the ambient air on a mesh mounted on a lamp chimney, above the lamp's flame. The disclosure of this patent and of all other publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The volatile material being heated by this device is positioned above the lamp chimney and thus is directly exposed to ambient air currents, which can cause uneven heating and cooling of the volatile material. The exposed location of the material being heated also allows it to be touched or disturbed by a passing child or animal. Furthermore, it is immediately visible to a user so that charred material can present an unsavory sight.
U.S. Pat. No. 143,583 discloses a fumigator in which an alcohol lamp is placed at the bottom of a metal chimney. A cup to hold an otherwise uncontained liquid fumigant is suspended within the chimney at its top, and a perforated lid closes the chimney. The lamp heats the liquid fumigant, and vapor escapes through the perforations of the lid. Handling the uncontained liquid fumigant and gaining access to and refilling the cup can be inconvenient and risk spillage.
Petzwinkler, South African patent abstract 94/5537, discloses an oil lamp equipped with a metal mosquito mat holder that is positioned beside, as opposed to over, the lamp's flame. Heat radiating from the flame heats a metal holder from that side of the holder which is presented toward the flame. A conventional mosquito mat is then held vertically on the opposite side of the holder, away from the flame. By this means, the mat is shielded from direct exposure to the flame or its gases, albeit it is heated to drive off the volatiles contained in the mat.
The Petzwinkler dispenser provides a visible flame. However, this dispenser has a mosquito mat holder that holds a mat beside the flame, in open view of a user, detracting from the pleasing visual effect of the flame itself. Also, one must remove the dispenser's chimney to gain access to a spent mat to replace it.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,700,430 and 3,778,924 each employ butane as a fuel for a flame or a catalytic burner, using a replaceable fuel tank. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,430 mosquito mat is laid on top of a metal plate. Heat is conducted from the location of a flame to the metal plate by means of intervening, heat-conductive parts. In a subsequent version of the device that otherwise closely corresponded to the embodiment shown, a butane flame was enclosed within a metal, rectangular, open-ended box. The box was heated by the flame, and the flame's gases exited an open end of the box to be vented from the device. A mosquito mat was positioned on top of the box to receive heat conducted through the metal box from the flame. The butane flame, heat-conductive parts, and mosquito mat were all held within a protective heat box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,430 thus relies on indirect heating. The volatiles from the hottest places on the mat are released fastest. Consequently, the mat's volatiles are discharged unevenly, with the possibility that volatiles at locations remote from the hottest places may never be discharged before the mat's overall release rate becomes so low as to require replacement of the mat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,924 a mosquito mat is held exposed to the ambient air on a metal sole plate over a catalytic burner fueled by butane drawn from a replaceable, pressurized tank. However, the mat is not enclosed in a heating chamber.
Other patents disclose assemblies that rely on an electrical heater (as distinguished from a fuel burning heater) to heat the volatile carrier. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,513,919, 2,942,090, 4,849,181 and 5,111,477. This restricts the portability of the device (it cannot easily be used at camping or picnic sites which do not have electrical power).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,199 discloses a flea trap (without a volatile heater) having a removable tray that slides into a slot in the flea trap. The slot has keying structures that restrict access into the slot. To enter, a tray must present a complementary cross-sectional profile to the slot.
There are also a number of other known insect repellent/killing devices which provide a heat source under a platform designed to support a pad that has been impregnated with the insect control active ingredient. Some use a liquid fuel such as alcohol that is burned in an open flame, or directed to a catalyst mesh where it combusts.
In some cases the platform is an open grid. In others it is a flat metal plate heated from beneath. Some of these systems also provide a separate grid structure which snaps or swings over the carrier for restricting access to the heated mat during operation. These systems typically do not provide a light source through transparent sides of a heating chamber (e.g. they are designed purely for insect control).
It can therefore be seen that there is a need for an improved heated volatile dispenser.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a heated volatile dispenser for dispensing volatile ingredients from a volatile carrier. “Volatile ingredients” include (without limitation) perfumes and other air quality modifying materials, as well as insect control ingredients. “Insect” includes arachnids and other similar, small animals commonly controlled in conjunction with insects. “Insect control ingredients” are defined as including (without limitation) insecticides, repellents, and other development or behavior modifying materials. One highly preferred insect control agent is d-cis/trans allethrin.
A “volatile carrier” is a material or structure for holding a volatile ingredient for dispensing. “Mats” are one common type of volatile carrier often used with insect control ingredients and are defined as including (without limitation) woven, felted, or otherwise formed fibrous or cellulose materials; as well as molded, extruded, cast, or otherwise formed polymeric, ceramic, and clay materials, together with other convenient materials loaded with volatile ingredients, whether by impregnation, printing, or otherwise. Volatile carriers can also be metal or plastic cups holding a volatilizable gel; cups holding a gel, powder, or liquid retained in the cup by a volatile-permeable membrane; or any other convenient means for holding a material to be volatilized by the application of heat. However, uncontained liquids or powders, together with liquids or powders held in open cups or similar containers, are excluded from the term “volatile carrier,” as used herein.
In one form, the heated volatile dispenser of the invention has an enclosed heating chamber having chamber walls. The heating chamber preferably also has a ceiling, although a heating chamber will be understood as being “enclosed” if it has walls, either an open top or a ceiling, and either a closed or an open bottom. If the heating chamber has a ceiling, the heating chamber also has exit vents in the ceiling or chamber walls or both that communicate between the interior of the heating chamber and the outside air. The exit vents are holes, slots, or other openings that function as vents. Particularly preferred are permanently enclosed structures with ceilings.
The dispenser also has a heat source that preferably is a fuel burner. The fuel burner can be a candle, a burner using a solidified combustible liquid such as conventional gelled alcohol, a burnable solid, a pressu
Demarest Scott W.
Fryan Michael C.
Furner Paul E.
Leonard Stephen B.
Mineau Steven B.
S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.
Thornton Krisanne
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