MXPA99003612A - Adjustable-intensity heating device for the evaporation of chemical substances - Google Patents

Abstract

Heating device for the evaporation of liquid chemical substances,such as insecticides or perfumed essences, of the type comprising a box-shaped body (1) to which a bottle containing said substance and provided with a wick (9) may be associated, said wick partially facing an electric heating element (3) integral with the box-shaped body (1), and in which the relative position of the wick (9) and heating element (3) is adjustable, wherein said bottle is fixed to a sleeve (7) sliding inside a fitting bush (4) integral with the bottom part of the box-shaped body (1), said sleeve (7) having, in the region of its upper edge, a radially projecting stop profile and an operating arm extending through a window formed on the box-shaped body (1).

Description

ADJUSTABLE INTENSITY HEATING DEVICE FOR THE EVAPORATION OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Heating devices for the evaporation of chemical substances, such as insecticides or perfumed essences, are well known. Two basic types of such heating devices are manufactured: a first type in which the heating of a support plate impregnated with the desired active ingredient is performed; a second type in which a wick is provided, the wick is partially submerged in a small bottle containing the substances in liquid form and which transports, by means of capillarity, the essence to the vicinity of a heating element. The present invention is related to this last type of heating device, in particular, it relates to an adjustable intensity heating device, i.e., which the evaporation intensity of the liquid chemical substance can be adjusted within a predetermined range , by varying the amount of heat transmitted from the heating element to the wick. In the broad sector of evaporative heating devices, there has been a demand every time greater by a heating device which offers the possibility of adjustment according to the particular requirements of the user. In fact, notwithstanding the practicality and low costs of a standard heating device without trim characteristics, the possibility of being able to adjust the evaporation intensity undoubtedly offers a seri & of considerable advantages. First, by adjusting intensity, it is possible to modify the amount of active constituent introduced in the room, based on the particular conditions of the latter: for example, when the room is small or there is insufficient air renewal, the intensity of the Evaporation should be likely to remain low compared to large or well-ventilated rooms. Secondly, the amount of chemical substance introduced in the room can be adjusted based on the individual sensitivity of each person, making the use of insecticides tolerable even in rooms frequented by people who find the insecticides particularly annoying. Thirdly, with a heating device of this type, it is possible to carry out an initial and therefore rapid disinfection of the insects, or to aromatize the room and then to maintain, over time, the effects of this action with the introduction of an amount small of the active substance.

Therefore, the higher cost of manufacturing a heating device of variable intensity, which results from its greater construction complexity, is greatly exceeded by its improved operation. Several solutions have been proposed to date in the technology in order to obtain adjustment in the evaporation intensity. Here, we will not consider the attempts made in adjusting the heating intensity of the heating element using electrical or electronic methods, since they are completely outside the subject matter of the present invention. According to a different approach, the intensity of evaporation is varied by adjusting the relative position of the wick and the heating element, while keeping the heat power produced by the latter constant. In particular, the surface portion of the wick exposed to the heating element increases or decreases, and therefore the amount of chemical evaporated is correspondingly increased or decreased. This operation, for example, is performed by moving the elements closer together along the longitudinal axis of the wick. This last technical solution has essentially assumed configurations in the prior art, the first wherein the heating element is displaced with respect to the wick, and the second wherein, on the one hand, the wick moves with respect to the heating element. Typically, medium-type heating devices consist of a box-shaped body from which a power supply plug is projected and which comprises a heating element and a means for receiving and immobilizing a small bottle in position. contains the liquid that is going to evaporate and the associated wick. The first configuration of the known prior art solution has the disadvantage, however, that the heating element must move with respect to the interior of the box-shaped body and therefore also with respect to the power plug, together with the associated connections and electrical contacts. This, in addition to being uncomfortable, returns to all the delicate mechanism and susceptible to accidental ruptures. The known technique has solved this problem by using the second configuration mentioned above, specifically by constructing a heating device in which the heating element, together with the associated electrical connections, are integral with the box-shaped body and with the plug of energy supply, while the bottle with the associated stopper is inserted to a greater or lesser degree within the box-shaped body by moving the wick closer to the heating element by a variable amount. In document ES-U-8800978, for example, a bottle with stopper has been provided, the bottle is capable of being inserted manually, more or less full, into a body housing in the form of a box when operating, with a finger , an elongated projection formed on one side of the bottle and received in a guide groove of the housing so that it projects outside the heating device. However, the relative poem will assume in the bottle within the housing, and therefore the wick with respect to the heating element, is only secured by the friction that exists between them. Therefore, an undesired removal of the bottle from the body in the form of a box or, in any case, its displacement from the desired position can easily occur. Furthermore, in order to be able to visually verify the degree of insertion of the bottle into the box-shaped body, it is necessary to be able to observe the relative position of the elongated projection within the associated slot of the housing. This involves access to the lower side of the heating device, which is not particularly easy when the heating device itself is coupled to a conventional power socket positioned not far above the floor. Therefore, each time the heating device must be adjusted, the user must lean into an awkward position or pull and extract "the device for heating the energy receptacle, interrupting the operation thereof. Finally, since the sliding of the projection into the guide groove is obtained by pressing a finger, the adjustment is neither pleasant nor simple. Furthermore, the force which can be exerted on the projection is very small, so that the adjustment becomes inconvenient or impossible when the friction between the bottle and the associated support bushing increases undesirably as a result of contamination or spillage of the liquid substance. The object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks mentioned above. In particular, one objective is to provide a wick-type heating device in which the adjustment of the evaporation intensity is performed with a device which does not allow accidental displacement or removal of the bottle from the body in the form of a box. Another objective is to provide a heating device which, by having the features mentioned above, also allows an easy and immediate verification of the intensity adjustment in a comfortable position for the user and without interrupting the operation of the heating device. These objectives are obtained with a heating device for the evaporation of liquid chemical substances, such as insecticides or perfumed essences, the type comprising a box-shaped body to which is attached a The bottle containing the substance and provided with a wick, the wick is partially oriented towards an integral electric heating element with the box-shaped body, and in which the relative position of the wick and the heating element is adjustable, wherein the bottle is fixed to a slidable sleeve within an integral bushing with the lower part of the body in the form of a box, the sleeve comprises an operating arm extending through a window formed in the body in the form of box. The additional characteristic features and advantages of the heating device according to the invention will, however, emerge more clearly from the detailed description which follows from a preferred embodiment thereof, provided by way of example and illustrated in the drawings. annexes, in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heating device according to the invention in the condition of minimum supply; Figure 2 is a sectional view, similar to that of Figure 1, with the heating device in the maximum supply condition; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III of Figure 1, and; Figure 4 is a front view of the heating device without the bottle.

As can be clearly seen in figures 1 and 2, the heating device is constituted by a box-shaped body 1, from which the rear part projects (towards the right side in the figures), a plug 2 for supplying electric power comprising a heating element 3 supplied electrically by means of electrical connections (not shown) to the power supply plug 2. The box-shaped body 1 has, at the bottom, a housing bushing 4 designed for the partial insertion of a small bottle 5 containing the liquid chemical substance to be evaporated. The bottle 5 has a neck 6 on which a thread 6a is formed. According to the present invention, the neck 6 of the bottle 5 is screwed firmly into a corresponding female thread of a slidable sleeve 7, which, in turn, is housed within the bushing 4. The outer diameter of the sleeve 7 is slidable and of the internal diameter of the hub 4 are such that these two elements are capable of sliding one inside the other with a minimum degree of clearance. Therefore, the bottle 5, fixed to the sleeve by means of engagement of the thread Sa in the corresponding female thread, will be able to slide together with the sleeve in relation to the body 1 in the form of a box. In order to prevent the sliding sleeve 7 from completely detaching from the bushing 4, according to the present invention, the sleeve has in the region of its upper edge a radially projecting profile, for example a circular flange 8, which is brought into contact with the upper edge of the hub 4, and prevents it from being pulled downwards. Therefore, the sleeve 7 is inserted from the upper part of the bushing 4, before it is closed in the form of a box and, subsequently, the bottle 5 is screwed into the latter from the bottom part.

The displacement of the sleeve in the opposite direction is limited by the presence of the underlying body which, having a diameter greater than that of the bushing, comes into contact against the walls of the latter when it is placed in its upper position, as shown in figure 2. The neck S of the bottle has emerged from it in a known manner, a wick 9 which extends in the vicinity of the heating element 3 placed in a fixed position inside the box-shaped body 1. The wick 9 absorbs the liquid contained in the bottle 5 and transfers it, by means of capillarity, to the vicinity of the heating element so as to allow evaporation thereof. The upper part of the box-shaped body, therefore, has openings in the form of a grid (shown in Figure 4) to allow the evaporated chemical to flow outwards. As can be seen from a comparison between figures 1 and 2, the bottle 2 by means of the sleeve 7, is able to slide between a lower position (figure 1), in which the The rim 8 rests on the upper edge of the bushing 4, and an upper position (FIG. 2), in which the bottle ascends against the lower edge of the bushing 4. Consequently, the wick 9, moves along with the bottle between a lower function, in which only its upper edge is located opposite the heating element 3, and an upper position, in which a dimensionable section of the wick 9 is oriented towards the heating element. Obviously, the greater the portion of the wick exposed to the heating element, the greater the amount of liquid evaporated. Consequently, the intensity of evaporation will be minimal when the bottle and the wick are located in the lower position, and maximum when located in the upper position, with a great diversity of variable intensities of evaporation interval in the intermediate positions. , according to the present invention, the slidable sleeve 7 has an arm 10. (figure 3) which extends radially and is on the same plane defined by the circular rim 8 and which is inserted inside the window 11. formed frontally in the thickness of the box-shaped body 1. The window 11 is inclined with respect to the horizontal and therefore guides the end 10a of the arm 10 as it would on an inclined surface.

- ?? - Therefore, the displacement of the arm 10 causes the rotation of the sleeve 7, integral therewith, inside the bushing 4 and at the same time, the sliding on the inclined surface of the window 11, extracted upwards or downwards along with the bottle and the wick. The arm 10 can also perform the function of the circular flange 8, that is, prevent the bushing 4 from being pulled downwards, cooperating just with the walls of the window 11. In this case, the arm 10 must have a much more structure. resistant, and the flange can be omitted 8. Based on the above description, the window 11 should be designed taking into consideration contrasting requirements: on the one hand, its inclination should be "small enough to ensure that the friction generated with the arm 10 does not allow the latter to slide along the window itself, when moved to an undesired position, even when a pulling or accidentally pushing force is exerted "on the body of the bottle. In addition, the inclination must be large enough to ensure that, between the two ends, there is a vertical height equivalent to the vertical displacement which the sleeve 7 performs between its upper position and its lower position. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the front external surface of the box-shaped body 1 has on it, in the region of the window 11, designed recesses 12 for the end 10a of the arm, which is capable of indicating the relative position assumed by the bottle 5 with respect to the box-shaped body and, indirectly, the relative position of the wick 9 and the heating element 3 and, therefore, , finally, the intensity of evaporation. Therefore, the arm 10 has the double function of obtaining the desired adjustment, by means of a simple operation performed by the user, and allowing easy reading of the evaporation adjustment intensity. The reading of the position at the end 10a with respect to the reference notches 12, since it is performed on the front side of the heating device, can also be clearly seen from the top (see Figure 3) and the operation of the Arm 10 is also easily performed, without unplugging the heating device itself from the receptacle on the wall. By way of conclusion, the design of the heating device according to the present invention fully achieves the desired objectives. On the one hand, it prevents the integral sleeve with the bottle 5 from being accidentally detached from the hub 4 within which it slides. On the other hand, it allows a comfortable reading of the intensity adjustment and an easy and precise variation in the adjustment, avoiding at the same time unwanted displacements, of the position in which the bottle has been placed.In any case, it is understood that the protection of the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown in the drawings, but extends to any other modification thereof, within the scope of the claims indicated below.

Claims (7)

1. A heating device for the evaporation of liquid chemicals, such as insecticides or scented essences, comprising a box-shaped body to which a small bottle containing the substance can be attached and which is provided with a wick, the wick is partially oriented towards an integral electrical heating element with the box-shaped body, and in which the relative position of the wick and the heating element is adjustable, the device is characterized in that the bottle is fixed to a slidable sleeve within a mounting bushing or integral adjustment with the lower part of the body in the form of a box, the sleeve comprises an operation arm that extends through a window formed on the box-shaped body.

2. The heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the window is formed in the front part of the box-shaped body and is inclined with respect to the horizontal.

3. The heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeve comprises, it comprises, in the region of its upper edge, a radially projecting stop profile.

4. The heating device according to claim 3, characterized in that the radially projecting stop profile is in the form of a circular rim.

5. The heating device according to claim 4, characterized in that the arm is coplanar with the circular rim.

6. The heating device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottle is fixed to the sleeve by means of a threaded connection.

7. The heating device according to claim 6, characterized in that the threaded connection comprises a female thread on the internal surface of the sleeve and a male thread on the external surface of the neck of the bottle.