WO2004028249A1

WO2004028249A1 - Apparatus for dispensing a volatile material

Info

Publication number: WO2004028249A1
Application number: PCT/IB2003/004219
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rinaldo Planca; José Carlos VENEZIANO
Original assignee: Arno S.A.
Priority date: 2002-09-26
Filing date: 2003-09-23
Publication date: 2004-04-08
Also published as: UY3959U; BR8202433U; BR8202433Y1; AR040263A4; AU2003260927A1

Abstract

Apparatus for dispensing a volatile material into ambient air comprising a fan and a dispensing device, said fan having a body (O) enclosing an electric motors and having an external frontal rim (7) adjacent to a guard (G) enclosing at least a blade (H) mounted on the axis of said electric motor, and said dispensing device carrying a tablet impregnated with a repellent and/or an odorizing substance S. More particularly, said tablet is mounted on the body (O) of the apparatus in proximity to said rim (7) and it is covered by a directing cowl (E) provided with an opening (A) situated in close proximity to the rim (7) of the body (O).

Description

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING A VOLATILE MATERIAL

The present invention relates to electrical devices that volatilise a substance and disperse the resultant vapour into the air in a room or other space. More particularly, the invention relates to a cooling fan incorporating a fragrance dispenser and/or an insect repellent dispenser.

Insects such as mosquitoes create problems both at an economic level and at a medical or veterinary level on a worldwide scale. Recent studies concluded that there are about 2,700 different species of mosquitoes in the world. The tropical countries, i.e. Brazil, offer the ideal climate for the proliferation of such insects that, apart from the discomfort caused by the noise and by the stinging, they transmit a series of diseases that cause a great number of hospital admissions and deaths, such as Dengue fever, the Yellow Fever, and malaria.

So, naturally, many solutions have been envisaged to repel or kill insects, as the apparatuses making use of a bait and applying electric shocks. The inconveniences of such an apparatus are that it consume a lot of electricity, it requires a bait (light or odour) to attract insects and it also need a frequent cleaning because the insects residues accumulate in the apparatus. Besides the typical disturbing noise produced by the apparatus when the insect is killed, there is also the risk for the user of receiving electric shocks.

Another solution to repel insects are the ultrasonic type devices. Although harmless to humans, their disadvantages are that they are costly and that any maladjustment of the emitted ultrasonic frequency may involve a drop of the apparatus efficiency causing discomfort to the user.

Besides, the poisonous type chemical insecticides present a high level of toxicity being harmful to human and livestock health. They are leaving dead insects scattered around the room, and have, consequently, a lingering action. Moreover, the insects are becoming more and more resistant to insecticides.

Another attempted solution has been the use of repellent chemical substances, i.e. aromas, that drive off the insects with a minimal degree of toxicity. Those substances may present natural based alternatives, they may be industrially produced or not, they may have different odors, or may even be odorless. They can be found in liquid, solid or gel form. Moreover, in the market there are various types of room fragrance dispensers, i.e. sprays, oils, candles, and some electric devices that give off a perfume contained in a sachet or tablet for up to a month.

A common type of repellent apparatuses is one of the plug-in type that is plugged into an electric wall outlet to supply heat to a heating coil within a housing. The generated heat raises the temperature of a tablet made of cotton fibre or similar material which is impregnated with a repellent substance and volatilises the substance in order to release the active substance in the room and to repel insects. This type of apparatus rely on existing air currents to disperse the active substance and consequently, it is not able to distribute the substance throughout a relatively large room. In this case, the range of action is limited to about 10 square meters (108 square feet) around the device, which represents a limitation of its efficiency.

Another approach to the dispersion of volatile material is shown in EP 0 187 090 describing an apparatus comprising a fan and a device for the destruction of flying insects. The apparatus comprises a base topped by a vertical foot for carrying the fan impeller which is rotatably mounted on an axis which is perpendicular to the foot. The device for the destruction of the insects comprises a plate impregnated with insecticide in contact with a heating resistor and it is mounted on the base on the same side as the impeller. The airflow of the impeller impinges on the external face of the plate and drags along the volatilised insecticide. Although more efficient than the above mentioned apparatuses, this apparatus still hold some important drawbacks, like the fact that the airflow striking the heated plate is highly diminishing its temperature and tends to inhibit its vaporisation; that the volatilised substance is swept away and may not cover all the areas of the treated zone; and also the fact that a device placed on the base of an impeller is not efficient in the case of an oscillating fan.

The objective of the present invention is to eliminate the problems encountered in the current technique, more particularly to obviate the above mentioned drawbacks, and to provide an apparatus destined to repel insects and/or to odorise rooms, on the type of a cooling fan, which is able to both volatilise and effectively distribute volatilizable substances into the air of a room or other area.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling fan provided with a device holding a substance able to repel insects and/or to odorise rooms, cooling fan that permits an uniformly distributed, easily controllable and efficient treatment without enhancing the premature consumption of that substance.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling fan able to repel insects and/or to odorise rooms which is fairly easy and cheap to manufacture.

These objectives can be achieved with an apparatus for dispensing a volatile material into ambient air comprising a fan and a dispensing device, said fan having a body enclosing an electric motor and having an external frontal rim adjacent to a guard enclosing at least a blade mounted on the axis of said electric motor, and said dispensing device carrying a tablet impregnated with a repellent and/or an odorising substance, by the fact that said tablet is mounted on the body of the apparatus in proximity to said rim and in that it is covered by a directing cowl provided with an opening situated in close proximity to the rim of the body.

The tablet containing the repellent and/or odorising substance is mounted on the fan body, more particularly on the lateral outer side of the body, close to the air inlet. The directing cowl covers the said tablet acting thus like a chimney or a deflector for the volatilised substance and for carrying it toward the air flow inlet. Thus, the substance, more particularly the volatilised substance is sucked up by the air flow, mixed by the rotational movement of the blades and then it is send off into the room together with the air flow. Such an arrangement guarantees a good dispersion of the repellent and/or odorising substance over a wide area.

Advantageously, the directing cowl have a streamlined form and it is mounted on the lateral outer side of the body.

As it is mounted on the lateral outer side of the fan body, the directing cowl is parallel to the direction of the air flow and thus, a streamlined form guarantees a low resistance to the air without reducing the air speed which also guarantees a low sound level.

Preferably, the directing cowl is removably mounted on the body for permitting the user to have access to the tabled in order to change or to replace an used tablet with a new one.

Advantageously, the tablet is heated by contact with an active heating element of a heating kit.

One could certainly envisaged one variant in which the substance of the said tablet would be vaporised directly by the heat of the electric motor when an electric current is applied to its coil. However, we prefer to use an active heating element as its working temperature is easier to control and to adapt to a specific use.

Preferably, the tablet is removably inserted in a housing of said heating kit which is fixed to the body. We prefer a fixed mounting for the housing of the heating kit, i.e. for the electrical connections of the heating element, and a removably one for the tablet in order to replaced the used tablet to a new one.

Advantageously, the upper end area of the housing of the heating kit is provided with passage orifices.

This allow to the vapours of the volatilised repellent or odorising substance to pass in the directing cowl and then into the air flow. In a variant, a membrane permeable to the vapours could be used instead of the passage orifices.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the heating kit is activated simultaneously with the cooling fan.

So a single on/off switch is to be used and thus greatly simplifies the construction of the apparatus.

In another embodiment, the apparatus is provided with a switch for turning on/off the electrical supply of the heating kit.

An apparatus according to this embodiment may be either be used as a conventional cooling fan alone or in combination with a dispenser of a repellent and/or room odorising substance.

The present invention will now be described in more detail based on an operational example with reference to the annexed drawings, in which :

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooling fan according to the invention having an area on its rear body designed for the placement of a receptacle containing an insect repellent substance and/or a substance with room odorising properties;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembled cooling fan, with the above mentioned receptacle in its place, there being represented an area in the rear body destined for the positioning of a repellent odorising substance directing cowl;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the assembled cooling fan with both the repellent/odorising substance receptacle and the directing cowl;

Figure 4 is a frontal view of cooling fan showing the repellent/odorising substance receptacle an the directing cowl mounted on the fan body.

Figure 5 illustrates the electrical circuit diagram of the present invention;

Figure 6 illustrates the electrical circuit diagram of an alternative embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 7 presents a perspective view showing the assembled cooling fan of the figure 2 according to the alternative embodiment of the figure 6.

A cooling fan of the invention having insect repellent properties and/or room odorising properties is shown in Figure 1 , said cooling fan comprising a body O supported by a pedestal X prolonged by a base that sustained it. The body O encloses a fan motor having an horizontal axis and carrying a fan impeller at one end. A power switch B is mounted on the said base for turning the fan on and off. For simplicity, the power cord for connecting the fan to a source of electrical power has been eliminated. The impeller of the cooling fan is provided with at least one blade H, preferably three, and is enclosed by a guard G mounted at one end of the body O, adjacent to an external rim 7 of the said body O.

As shown in the figure 1 , on a lateral outer side of the body O of the cooling fan is delimited an area 5 close to a rim 7 of the aforementioned body. A heating kit 8 is destined to be fixed in the area 5, the heating kit 8 being isolated from the body O and represented nearby for a better understanding. The heating kit 8 has a housing having a general form of a parallelepiped which internally holds an active heating element, its conducting wires 4 being visible for electric connection. The housing of the heating kit 8 presents a passage opening 1 in which one can insert a tablet impregnated with the repellent or room odorising substance S. Such a tablet is made of a carrier substance including fibrous mats of felted, woven or non woven fabrics, a polymeric or ceramic materials or even a gel, all that substances being loaded with a substance S of volatile ingredients. When the tablet is fitted into the opening 1 it contacts a heating element, i.e. a thermistor fabricated from a ceramic plate, which is capable of heating said tablet when its conductive wires 4 are energised. An area C at the top of the housing of the heating kit 8 is provided with passage orifices 2, i.e. of a square form, arranged in a regular pattern allowing to the volatilised substance to be sent forth when heated.

As better illustrated in figure 2, a support groove 3 of a curved shape is provided all around the area 5 on the body O and is designed to receive a repellent/odorising substance directing cowl E. The directing cowl E is removably mounted on the groove 3 in order for the user to have access to the heating kit previously fixed on the area 5 of the lateral side of the body O.

Figure 2 represents the cooling fan of the invention with the heating kit 8 already installed in the area 5 on the body O of the cooling fan. The heating kit 8 is permanently fixed to the body O. The tablet S was introduced through the opening 1 and it is fitted inside the heating kit 8, in contact with the heating resistor. The directing cowl E is represented nearby the body O of the cooling fan for a better understanding, with the broken lined arrows indicating the setting up of the a cowl E on the support groove 3. The directing cowl E has a curved contour and is configured as a shell having a curved external surface with a streamlined form. The detailed view d', encircled by a broken line, shows a perspective view of the cowl E seen from its internal side. The directing cowl E has an opened frontal upper end A (also encircled by a broken line) and a closed lower end. The opening A, as better shown in figure 4, allows the volatilised substance of the tablet S to exit the directing cowl E in an area near to the air flow entrance. Preferably, the directing cowl E is made of plastic formed by conventional plastic fabricating techniques.

In figure 3 one can observe the cooling fan of the present invention, having the heating kit 8 and the directing cowl E mounted on the lateral side of the body O. When the cowl E is mounted on the support groove 3, it completely covers the heating kit 8 and the opening A is in close proximity to the rim 7 of the body O, facing the guard G of the cooling fan. When the cooling fan is turned on by means of the button B, the heating element of the heating kit 8 is also activated providing heat to the tablet S which is impregnated with the repellent and/or room odorising substance S. The volatilised substance is propagated in gaseous form inside the cowl E and exits through the opening A. The air flow generated by the rotational movement of the blade H draws up the gaseous substance directing it towards the frontal portion of the cooling fan, together with the air flow. So, the air flow is carrying the gaseous repellent and/or odorising substance and thus producing, by a mechanical action, a greater dispersion and spreading of the substance into the room.

The directing cowl E, on the one hand, acts as a deflector or a chimney ensuring that the totality of the volatilised substance is diffused into the room by the movement of the blades H especially in the area in front of the cooling fan, due to the fact that the opening A is in close proximity to the aforementioned blade; and, on the other hand, the directing cowl E avoids the cooling of the heating element contained in the heating kit 8. So, without a covering of the heating kit 8 by the directing cowl E, a cooling of the heating element and of the tablet containing the substance to be dispensed would certainly occur due to the passage of air flow drained by the blades H through the area around the heating kit 8. Additionally, the cowl E offers protection to the user, as he/she can neither physically touch the heating kit 8 when heated nor the tablet S, the substance of which could be poisonous. The cowl E may however be removed from the support groove 3. So, when detached from the body O, it allows to the user to have access to the heating kit 8, more particularly in order to change or to replace an used tablet with a new one. The main advantage of the positioning of the heating kit 8 on the lateral side of body O of the cooling fan of this invention is that such a heating kit 8 is set in close proximity to the blade H, guaranteeing, also through the directing cowl's E action, that all the volatilised substance sent forth in the air be efficiently carried by the air flow generated by the blades, dispersing itself in the room. If the heating kit 8 was not installed on the body O, but anyplace else away from the blade H, such as at the base of the cooling fan for example, a great extent of the substance would not reach the blade H, but it would be lost in undesirable areas.

The button B is destined to turn on, turn off and change the cooling fan's blades speed (i.e. between v1 , v2 or vn) and has also the function of controlling the heating kit 8, turning it on in any of the speeds selected or turning it off as the cooling fan is turned off, as better seen on the electrical circuit diagram figure 5.

The figure 6 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, where an additional on-off switch K is provided in order to allow the user to turn on-off the heating kit 8 independently of the position of the selector of the button B. So, with the switch K in the position represented in the figure 6, the heating kit 8 is turned off permitting thus the use of the cooling fan as a conventional one.

An example of positioning of the switch K is represented in figure 7 where the switch K is set out in the proximity of the heating kit 8 and became accessible when the directing cowl E is removed. Every other positioning of the switch K is also possible, i.e. on the body O on the outside of the cowl E, on the base of the cooling fan, in close proximity to the button B, etc.

The following advantages can be obtained with the apparatus described herein: - the blades of the cooling fan drain the evaporated substance (of repellent or odorising type) for spreading it uniformly into the room, thus avoiding an important concentration in a specific area, as it usually happens with the conventional apparatuses where the repellent concentration in the area close to the apparatus is high and provokes the formation of a repellent gas cloud around it which represents a possible risk to people that are subject to allergies; the cooling fan will carry the evaporated substance along with its air flow which circles around the room, spreading it all over the room, thus having an optimised range of action, if compared to the conventional apparatuses, whose range of action is limited to about 10 square meters (108 square feet) ; the treatment of areas larger than 10 square meters (108 square feet) requires the use of several conventional apparatuses, causing thus many dense repellent/odorising clouds all over the place; however with the cooling fan of the present invention only the range of action of the fan's air flow is to be determined as it is equal to the range of action of the repellent/odorising dispenser ; with the conventional apparatuses, in order for the insects to be affected by the repellent, they need to enter the stationary cloud formed close to the apparatus; whereas, with the use of the cooling fan of the present invention, the repellent will be constantly spread all around the room, increasing thus the possibility of affecting the insects, wherever they are in the room; the positioning of the electric device on the rear body of the cooling fan avoids the risk for the user to accidentally touch the tablet containing the repellent/odorising substance and also guarantees that all evaporated repellent/odorising substance is uniformly distributed by the air flow ; additionally, the fan of the present invention may comprise an on-off switch allowing the user to turn on-off the repellent/odour dispenser device and, consequently, to use the apparatus together with the dispenser or only as a conventional cooling fan.

While examples of two embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereupon without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed and claimed.

In a variant, there is no active heating element and the tablet impregnated with a repellent and/or odorising substance is mounted adjacent to the coil of the electric motor of the fan. Thus, the volatile substance is vaporised directly by the heat of the electric motor when an electric current is applied to its coil.

So, instead a fixed fan unit, an oscillating fan unit may be rotatably mounted on the top of the pedestal X. The oscillation of the fan unit may be achieved by an electromechanical mechanism enclosed on the oscillating body of the fan. So, the positioning of the heating kit 8 on the lateral side of such an oscillating body guarantees a good dispersion of the volatilised substance all over the room.

The present invention may equally apply to a desk-type fan, a floor fan, a ceiling fan or a wall fan.

Claims

1. Apparatus for dispensing a volatile material into ambient air comprising a fan and a dispensing device, said fan having a body (O) enclosing an electric motor and having an external frontal rim (7) adjacent to a guard (G) enclosing at least a blade (H) mounted on the axis of said electric motor, and said dispensing device carrying a tablet impregnated with a repellent and/or an odorising substance S, characterised by the fact that said tablet is mounted on the body (O) of the apparatus in proximity to said rim (7) and in that it is covered by a directing cowl (E) provided with an opening (A) situated in close proximity to the rim (7) of the body (O).

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the directing cowl (E) have a streamlined form and that it is mounted on the lateral outer side of the body (O).

3. Apparatus in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the directing cowl (E) is removably mounted on the body (O).

4. Apparatus in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the tablet (S) is heated by contact with an active heating element of a heating kit (8).

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, characterised by the fact that the tablet (S) is removably inserted in a housing of said heating kit (8) which is fixed to the body (O).

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5, characterised by the fact that the upper end area (C) of the housing of the heating kit (8) is provided with passage orifices (2).

7. Apparatus in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the heating kit (8) is activated simultaneously with the cooling fan.

8. Apparatus in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that it is provided with a switch for turning on/off the electrical supply of the heating kit (8).