GB2326342A

GB2326342A - Aromatiser adapter for an oil lamp

Info

Publication number: GB2326342A
Application number: GB9712926A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Julian Edgar Frank Norfolk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-06-20
Filing date: 1997-06-20
Publication date: 1998-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2017-06-20
Also published as: GB9712926D0; GB2326342B

Abstract

An aromatiser adapter 1 for use with an oil lamp enables fragrance to be evaporated, the aromatiser comprising a container 6 for holding the fragrance and a wick holder adapted to receive and support a wick 3 which extends through the adapter into the oil lamp, the adapter having a tube 5 shaped so as to support the adapter snugly in the neck of the oil lamp. The adapter may be manufactured from bronze, heat-resistant glass, porcelain or ceramics. In use, the wick transports oil from a reservoir to a point above the wick holder where the oil burns producing heat which volatilises the fragrance.

Description

Device The present invention relates to an adapter for use with a bottle or other container which is to serve as a lamp. In particular, it relates to an adapter for an oil lamp to allow the lamp, when lit, to fragrance.

Oil burning lamps of various designs are known, including those for domestic use to impart a soft light to the room in which they are used. For example, such lamps may be used to impart a romantic or cosy ambience to a dining area or living area. Such lamps generally comprise a container for the oil such as a glass bottle having a neck into which is inserted a tightly-fitting wick-holder adapted to receive and support within the container a wick and to allow the wick to project beyond the neck of the container and the wick-holder so that the wick may be lit and kept alight until the oil in the container is substantially used up.

It is also known to burn fragrances such as perfumed oils or naturallyscented oils to allow a room to be filled with fragrance. Some such fragrances are to enable de-odourising of a room such as a kitchen to neutralise unwanted odours such as those resulting from cooking. Usually, devices employed for such purpose are aromatisers which comprise a container for the fragrance positioned above a candle-supporting device such that, as the wick of candle is lit, the heat therefrom heats the container which in turn causes the fragrance to aromatise, thereby releasing molecules of fragrance into the room in which the aromatiser is being used.

Attempts have been made to try to combine the effect of these oil lamps with these aromatisers. However, none have been particularly successful in practice at allowing the fragrance to be widely diffused in the room. One example of such an attempt is described in PCT patent specification no. 97104272, which discloses a device for use in an oil lamp to allow the diffusion of the scent of a perfume added to the oil. The device is a ring-shaped element having a plurality of inwardly downwardly protruding tabs that are spaced apart to define gaps therebetween permitting uninterrupted air flow between the inside of the bottle and the ambient air.

The tabs have free ends defining an opening and are sized and shaped to receive and hold a wick supporting tube. One of the disadvantages of such a device is that, once the perfume is added to the oil, it is not possible to choose not to have the fragrance without either changing the oil in the lamp to non-perfumed oil or waiting until the perfumed oil has been used up.

The present invention therefore provides an aromatiser adapter for an oil lamp to enable it to fragrance, which adapter comprises: a container for the fragrance; a wick holder adapted to receive and support a wick; and means enabling the adapter to fit snugly into the oil lamp.

The means enabling the adapter to fit snugly into the oil lamp may comprise or be an extension of the lower part of the wick holder. Preferably, the wick holder is of tube-like construction which extends substantially vertically through the fragrance container. More preferably, the fragrance container is substantially dish-shaped to provide a relatively large surface area compared to its depth. Especially preferred is when the top of the wick holder, through which, in use, the lit part of the wick protrudes, extends beyond the top rim of the container. The wick holder is preferably positioned in the centre of the container so that, in the especially preferred embodiment of this invention, both the wick holder and container are of circular crosssection and the wick holder is sited concentrically within the container. The top part of the wick holder within the container may be of the same or different diameter when compared with the lower part thereof which, in use, extends below the fragrance container into the oil lamp.

The aromatiser adapter according to the present invention may comprise any non-combustible material capable of containing the fragrance such as bronze, heat-resistant glass, porcelain or ceramics. Preferably, the adapter is ceramics which may be covered with a coloured glaze and fired at greater than 8000C. The preferred aromatiser adapters according to this invention therefore have the advantages in use of not catching fire or leaking and they prevent flooding of oil over the wick or wick holder into the fragrance container.

The present invention will now be illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side perspective view of an aromatiser adapter according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the top of such an adapter; and Figure 3 is a vertical section through A-A' in Figure 1.

The adapter comprises a 1-piece, moulded ceramics device (1) which has been glazed throughout and fired at > 8000C. Running longitudinally from top to bottom (in use) of the device is a tube (4), (5) defining an aperture (2) in which a wick (3) can be supported co-axially through its length. The upper part of the tube (4) (in use, furthest from the neck of the oil lamp) is shaped like an upturned flower pot so that its top diameter is less than its diameter where it joins the base of a dish-shaped container (6) for the fragrance. The lower part of the tube (5) is shaped similarly to but overall slightly larger than the upper part (4). Surrounding the tube (4, 5) and concentric therewith, the dish-shaped container (6) provides a bowl of circular cross-section to contain a reservoir of fragrance (not shown). The top edge or lip (7) of the container is lower than the top edge of the upper part of the tube (4) thereby, in use, preventing capillary action of the fragrance up the wick.

In use, the lower part of the tube (5) is snugly fitted into the neck of an oil-filled oil lamp and the wick (3) adjusted to extend into the oil and to protrude from the upper part of the tube (4). Fragrance is added to the container (6) and the wick (3) lit. As the fragrance heats up, it is aromatised and the relatively large surface area of the bowl-like container (6) allows the scent to diffuse into the room.

Claims

1. An aromatiser adapter for an oil lamp to enable, in use, the volatiling of fragrance, which adapter comprises: - a container for the fragrance; - a wick holder adapted to receive and support a wick which extends into an oil reservoir contained in the oil lamp; and - means configured to support the adapter snugly into the neck of the oil lamp.

2. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in claim 1, in which the support means comprises an extension of the lower part of the wick holder.

3. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the wick holder is of tube-like construction, and extends substantially vertically through the fragrance container.

4. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the fragrance container is substantially dish-shaped so as to provide a relatively large surface area compared to its depth.

5. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the top end of the wick holder, through which the lit part of the wick protrudes during use, extends beyond the top rim of the container.

6. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the wick holder is positioned in the centre of the fragrance container.

7. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which both the wick holder and fragrance container are of circular crosssection and the wick holder is situated concentrically within the container.

8. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the lower part of the wick holder extends below the fragrance container into the oil lamp.

9. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims, which is manufactured from a non-combustible material such as bronze, heatresistant glass, porcelain, or ceramics.

10. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in claim 9, which is manufactured from ceramics, covered with a coloured glaze and fired at a temperature greater than 8000C.

11. An aromatiser adapter as claimed in any of the preceding claims and substantially as herein described.

12. An aromatiser adapter for an oil lamp to enable it to volatilise fragrance, substantially as herein described and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.