US2642310A

US2642310A - Diffuser and binder base for residue of evaporable material

Info

Publication number: US2642310A
Application number: US151212A
Authority: US
Inventors: George W Meek; William H Wheeler
Original assignee: Airkem Inc
Current assignee: Airkem Inc
Priority date: 1950-03-22
Filing date: 1950-03-22
Publication date: 1953-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-16

Description

June 16, 1953 5, w, MEEK ET AL 2,642,310-

DIFFUSER AND BINDER BASE FOR RESIDUE OF EVAPORABLE MATERIAL Filed March 22, 1950 INVENTORS. 64-02 5 1/14 4155K M4 M1 166 Manse.

Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE. I I 2,642,310" i V DIFFUSER AND BINDER BASE'FOR- RESIDUE.

or EVAPORABLE MATERIAL George w. Meek, Pelham', and William H.

Wheeler, New York, N. Y., assign'ors to Airkem, Inc, New York, N. Y., a corporation. :01 New York application March 22, 1950,"Serial .No. 151,212

A general object of the present invention is to provide certain improved difiuserfeatures and simple but efiecuve means in such structures which assure automatic binding together or physically securing to a common element 7 segregable units of residue of 'evap'orable material to avoid annoying rattle of free residue units or unsightly arrangement 'of such units in an exhausted diffuser; such means adapted, when desired, to serve as an effective replacement indicating or warning means.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide in such diffuser apparatus having containe'r means or chamber structuref'or evaporable material the top surface ofthe bottom wall thereof of a character s'uchas tohave an efiective adherent aifinityfor residue of such material desirablyto bind segregable units thereof together. I 1

Another object of the present inventionis'the provision of such binder means in a :form characterized by a top surface which when exposed to view between separated bodies oi the residue units provides, by visual structural or color con- 3 trast and/or characters thereon,'indi'cating'mediuin to direct timely replacement of evap'orable material.

A further object of the present invention is to provide'structural embodiments of the invention which may be-readily and economically produced in commercial production and which permit simple and eficient :use and operation thereof. I

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will 'in part 'appear hereinafter.

.Theinvention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set indicated in the claims.

FOr' a fuller understanding lo'f' the -nature-andobjects of the'invention, Preference ish'ould -ibe bein 3 Claims. (Cl. 299- 24 had to the 'iollowing detailed description taken in 'connectionwith the accompanying drawing, inwhichz' r V Fig. 1 is *a-perspective view of a diffuser apparatus in use in which features of the present invention "may be embodied, showing the device manipulated to provide adjusted vapor outlets of particular size;

'2 is an enlarged elevational section taken substantially on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

"Fig. *3 is a perspective view, with parts removed, "broken away and'in section, of an inner container 'housable in the casing shown in Fig. 1 inthe manner s'hown'i'nFig. 2 serving to carry a supply of the evaporable material there depicted as "a segmented "body ofgel;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of binder means of thepresent invention as embodied in the structuresshown inFigs. 2 and 3, showing separated units of residue of the evaporable material adhered thereto; "and T Fig. 5 is an enlarged central-fragmentary view 2 tile top of the binder means best shown in Referring to the drawing, inhwhich like numerals identifysimilarsparts throughout, it will be "seen that the apparatus shown by way of example in.Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a base memher I [L a-cover member l1 including a tray element IZ, and :a source of air tempering or freshening vapors. The base I0 consists of a substantially .cylindrical or circular wall 4 having .an open bottom l5 and a lateral internal bottom flange l6 preferably made integral with theicylindricalwall and adapted to iormasupporting ledge. The-cylindrical wall ['4 of the base llliisprovided at I! with'an external circular supporting-shoulder and a circular, rim flange I l 8 thereabove; That :base structure is "preferably formed of cast plastic material, but obviously can be formedof :anyrother-suitable material, such as metal, etc. j 7 The cover 1 I .is'in the formofa slip'top cover structurehavingxa downwardly :dependi-ng flange 19 adapted'to'ztelescope"overthe rim flange I? of the base structure land-with its loweredge 20 rotatably .restinguponthe "circular shoulder l1 oftthe latter. Preferably the cover II is made in ".twoparts, with the depending flange portion l9 terminating 'at thetop thereof in a lateral internal flange 2 l r on which is supported rim 22 ofv dished "tray 12. That portion of cover H V which forms the depending flange 19 and the lateral supporting flange Z-l is preferably made from castplastic or anyother suitable material.

The dished tray I2 is made in the commercial embodiment from transparent glass permitting observation of the body of evaporable material therebeneath. This construction permits the use of colored opaque plastic material in the formation of the side portions of the cover and of the base for enhancing the appearance of the device while retaining the desired characteristic of permitting observation of the interior from the top through the tray. Such observation may be desirable in order to apprise the user when depletion of the evaporable material has advanced to such a degree as to make replacement advisable without necessitating removal of the slip top cover II. When the tray l2 and the remainder of the cover II are made as separate units, as indicated, the tray rim 22 may, if desired, be cemented or otherwise suitably anchored to the supporting flange 2i. However, it will be understood that the tray portion l2 could be made as an integral part of the remainder of the cover II in the casting operation of the latter, particularly if, as may be desired, the whole slip top cover structure is made of transparent material.

The base structure I!) and the cover I I are pro-' vided with suitable cooperating cut-outs to serve as vapor outlets, which could be alignable holes in the base rim flange I8 and the cover depending flang I9. However, in the preferred structure, such cut-outs for the base are in the form of spaced notches 2323 in the rim flange I8 to provide therebetween circumambiently-spaced, upwardly-extending, curved or arcuate projections 242 i. The depending flange 19 of cover I I is similarly notched at 25 25 to provide therebetween circumambiently-spaced, downwardlyextending, curved or arcuate projections 26-2G. When the cover I I is oriented relativeto the base structure It by rotation of the projections 26-46 of the former on the' shoulder IT of'the latter to fully staggered relative positions the outlet louver means provided by the described structure are substantially closed so as to minimize vapor emanation from the interior of the base structure. If the cover H through a small radial angle relative to the base structure If portions of the base structure notches 23-23 will be brought to alignment with the cover notches 25-25 to provide adjusted vapor outlets, as indicated in Fig. 1.

As indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the evaporable material may be in the form of a scored body 21 of gel which maybe a jelled variant of the air freshening composition described in Paschal Patent No. 2,326,672 of August 10, 1943, .for Method and Composition for the Treatment of Air. Such a gel product is disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Turner et al., Serial No. l78,508,filed August 9, 1950; It is to be understood, however, that the body 21 of evap orable material may, if desired, be in the form of a liquid. The body of evaporable material 2? is suitably housed in a pan 218 having its circular bottom 29 resting upon the supporting base flange 25. In the commercial embodiment, the pan 28 forms the bottom of a slip top can structure in which the evaporable material may be diStI'ib-r uted, with the slip top cover thereof suitably removed at the time the unit I3 is loaded into the apparatus of the present invention;

It is a common practice to employ-such evaporable material in a formofa body of liquid containing solids insuspension and,;f; Course, when. such v p r ble. material is produced in the form of a gel, such solids are distributed throughout the body thereof. Consequently, as the constituents capable of evaporation are released in the form of vapor, some of the solids compact to gether eventually to form a residue which, after complete evaporation, may become a dark, hard, misshapen body. In theevent that the evaporable material contains chlorophyll so that it .may be a bright green when fresh, such dried diffusers where no attempt is made to take advantage of features of the present invention, such residue has a tendency to be free from or freed from adjacent surfaces of diffuser chamber walls and, as a single body or broken pieces thereof. to rattle around annoyingly in the device when moved. This is particularly true when the body 2'! of evaporable material is in the form of a segmented body of gel, as proposed by way of example in the accompanying drawing. As therein indicated, the cylindrical body of gel 21 may be segmentedin a pattern providing a pinrality of wedge units 3Ii3ii arranged about a central core unit 3I, one such wedge unit being shown removed in Fig. 3 for clarity.

In accordance with the present invention, the bottom wall 29 of container 28 has the top surface thereof conditioned or provided in a form so that it has an adherent aihnity for the residue of the wedge units 38-30 and the core unit 32. Although such top surface might be providedby a layer of loosely matted cellulosic fibers or by a separate sheet of impervious material, such as then: be rotated plastic or metal, provided with a number of small apertures or the like, it is formed in the embodiment shown by way of example in the drawing as a porous paper or cardboard disc 32 closely fitting within the container 28 upon the bottom 29 of the latter. The semi-absorbent character of the cellular or fibrous structure of the paper or cardboard disc 32 assures some penetration therein of the liquid constituent of the evaporable material or gel body thereof so as to provide a secure bond between the residue and the disc as the evaporable material gives oil vapor to dryness of the shrunken residue. The dried segregated units of residue are shown at 3333 in Fig. 4 and the shapes thereof as indicated in thatfigure closely resemble those of residue units as actually observed. All of the pieces or units of residue 33-33 have been found to be tightly retained upon the surface of the disc 32, so as to avoid any possibility of rattling around in thediffuser or to be disarranged therein in an unattractivefashion, as contrasted with the fixed arrangementof the segregated units in a desired attractive pattern as provided by the present in vention made apparent in Fig. 4. The rather considerable user objection to this tendency for the segregated units of residue to rattle around in the diffusers, to spill out and to pile up in unsightly disarrangements has'been effectively eliminatedby employing this binder base feature of the present invention. It is to be understood that such binding characteristic is attainable within the scope of the present invention by the employment of a properly conditioned top sur-' face of the bottom 29 of container 28 as well as by the use of a separate disc of suitable structure, such as 32; and that the latter permits, if desired, separation and removal of the disc with its attached units of residue from the container. The porosity of the base surface is also useful in reducing the amount of. free synaeresis certain quantities of which may be present in cans of theserves as a replacement indicator, advising the user to replace the evaporable material unit l3 in the diffuser apparatus. For this purpose, the top surface of the binder means or the upper face of disc 32 may be provided with suitable indicia indicating such replacement, such as the words replace gel now, as indicated in Fig. 5, ar-

ranged in some attractive pattern, such as the circle 34. tinting of the top surface of disc 32 may be of a bright green hue visually to contrast with the greenish black color of the segregated units of residue 33-33. It is to be understood, however, that any other sharply contrasting hue may be employed for the tinting of the top surface of the disc 32 if desired. The attractive design or arrangement of the adhered units of residue upon As a result, f

Further, as proposed in Fig. 5, the

as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l. A dispensing unit of volatilizable material containing minor portions of nonvolatilizing residue forming components, said dispensing unit comprising a'relatively fiat receptacle having an enlarged bottom wall, a low peripheral side wall, andbeing open at the top thereof, and

- said bottomwall having a thin fibrous layer arthe binder means or disc 32 may be predetermined by the pattern in which the body of gel 21 is segmented so as to assure a pleasing and attractive arrangement of the adhered segregated units of residue. The shrinking or contracting of the gel units 3030 and 3| upon progressive vaporization of evaporable constituents, with at-. tendant increase in spacing as the marginsof the bases thereof progressively recede, is particulary advantageous with respect to this replacement indicating feature since exposure of appreciable areas of the disc 32 and directions printed thereon is thus assured.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efliciently attained and, since certain, changes may be made in the above construction and difierent'embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described our invention, what we claim Numb er ranged along and in close proximity thereto, the surface of said fibrous layer being'adherent to the -volatilizable material and providing'means for adhering bodies of said nonvolatilizing residue in fixed position with respect to said receptacle.

2. A dispensin unit of'volatilizable material I containing minor portions of nonvolatilizing residue forming components, said dispensing unit comprising arelatively flat receptacle having'an enlarged bottom wall, a low peripheral side wall, andbeing open at the top thereof, and said bottom wall having a thin sheet of fibrous material arranged along and in close proximity thereto, the surface of said sheet of fibrous material being adherent tothe volatilizable material and providing means for adhering bodies of said nonvolatilizing residue in fixed position with respect tosaid receptacle.

3 A dispensing unit of volatiliza'ble material containing minor portions of nonvolatilizing residue forming components, said dispensing 'unit comprising a relatively flat receptaclehaving an enlarged bottom wall, a low peripheral side wall,

and being open at the top thereof, said bottom wall having a thin sheet of fibrous material arranged along and in close proximity thereto, the surface of said sheet of fibrous material being adherent to the volatilizable material and providing means for adhering bodies of said nonvolatilizing residue in fixed position with respect to said receptacle, and said sheet being character-- ized to function as a replacement indicator as portions thereof become-exposed through evapoiatilon of volatilizable materialffrom said recep ac e.

GEORGE W. MEEK. WILLIAM H. WHEELER.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,732,028 Reiner Oct. 15, 1929 1,742,962 McCrosky Jan. 7, 1930 1,988,141 Schaller Jan. 15, 1935 2,038,071 Wilhelm Apr. 21, 1936 2,383,960 Dupuy Sept. 4,