초록 ▼

A fragrance disperser (10) in one form includes a single fan (101) that passes air over a wicked single or double fragrance (102). A second form has the fan (11) reversible to provide two different airstreams (29a, 29b; 60a, 60b) that evaporate respective different fragrances one after the other. Wh

A fragrance disperser (10) in one form includes a single fan (101) that passes air over a wicked single or double fragrance (102). A second form has the fan (11) reversible to provide two different airstreams (29a, 29b; 60a, 60b) that evaporate respective different fragrances one after the other. Where two fragrances are provided, the evaporation may be by respective electrical heaters. A fragrance source may be formed by two sheets (31, 40; 47, 48) joined together to form two chambers each receiving a respective wick (37a, 37b; 56a, 56b) and having respective exposed wick portions. The source may incorporate a source of electrical power (45). An alternative source (81a, 81b) has a reservoir (82a, 82b) for fragrance and a wick (87a, 87b) located in an air passage (83a, 83b) forming part of the source so that an air flow is guided through the passage past the wick to evaporate fragrance. Where two fragrances are provided, the fragrance sources may be located side-by-side and matching fragrances may have, for example, matching indicia (95, 96) on the sources so that the match can be easily determined visually.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A fragrance disperser comprising: two sources of fragrance, and a fan driven by a motor for generating a flow of air, a direction of rotation of the fan being selectively reversible to provide two different air flows in order to release a respective one of said two sour

The invention claimed is: 1. A fragrance disperser comprising: two sources of fragrance, and a fan driven by a motor for generating a flow of air, a direction of rotation of the fan being selectively reversible to provide two different air flows in order to release a respective one of said two sources of fragrance respectively into each air flow. 2. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1, wherein a closure is provided for closing a flow path of the non-selected fragrance. 3. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1, wherein one direction of rotation of the fan produces the fragrance releasing air flow in a first flow path and the other direction of rotation of the fan produces the fragrance releasing air flow in a second flow path. 4. A fragrance disperser according to claim 3, wherein the fan comprises a plurality of blades rotatable about a fan axis, the fan being surrounded by a housing having a housing axis co-axial with the fan axis and having two outlets, each outlet leading to a respective first or second flow path. 5. A fragrance disperser according to claim 4, wherein each outlet extends in a generally tangential direction relative to said housing axis. 6. A fragrance disperser according to claim 4, wherein the housing is shaped to provide a space between a radially outermost end of the fan and the housing, and wherein the housing increases in volume towards the associated outlet. 7. A fragrance disperser according to claim 4, wherein each blade lies in a plane including said fan axis and a radius relative to said fan axis, the blades being equiangularly arranged about said fan axis. 8. A fragrance disperser according to claim 3 wherein a closure is provided for closing the flow path of the non-selected fragrance and said closure comprises a shutter, rotation of the fan in said one direction causing the shutter to close said second air flow path and rotation of the fan in said other direction causing the shutter to close said first air flow path. 9. A fragrance disperser according to claim 8, wherein the shutter is arcuate, is movable in an angular direction and is connected to the motor by a frictional connection such that rotation of the motor in one sense produces a frictional force that moves the shutter in one sense and rotation of the motor in an opposite sense moves the shutter in an opposite sense. 10. A fragrance disperser according to claim 8, wherein a clutch mechanism is provided between said motor and said shutter so that rotation of the motor being transmitted to said fan via said clutch to close an air flow path is stopped when the clutch disengages the motor from the fan. 11. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1, further including a control means for controlling the release of said fragrances. 12. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein the control means causes release of the fragrances alternately. 13. A fragrance disperser according to claim 12, wherein the control means causes release of the fragrances continuously. 14. A fragrance disperser according to claim 12, wherein the control means causes release of the fragrances with a time interval between successive releases. 15. A fragrance disperser according to claim 12, wherein the control means causes time durations of release of the two fragrances to be equal. 16. A fragrance disperser according to claim 12, wherein the control means causes time durations of release of the two fragrances to be unequal. 17. A fragrance disperser according to claim 12, wherein the control means are operable to alter a rate of release of the fragrances. 18. A fragrance disperser according to claim 17, wherein the control means causes release of fragrances with a time interval between successive releases, the rate of release being controlled by altering time durations for which the fragrances are released. 19. A fragrance disperser according to claim 17, wherein the control means alters time durations for which the fragrances are released to alter the interval between successive releases. 20. A fragrance disperser according to claim 19, wherein the rate of release is controlled by altering both the time durations of release and the time intervals between successive releases such that the ratio of time duration of release to time interval between successive releases is unchanged. 21. A fragrance disperser according to claim 17, wherein the control means are operable to increase the rate of release of the fragrances relative to a datum rate of release. 22. A fragrance disperser according to claim 17, wherein the control means are operable to decrease the rate of release of the fragrances relative to a datum rate of release. 23. A fragrance disperser according to claim 17, and further including a manually operable means for operating the control means to alter the rate of release of the fragrances. 24. A fragrance disperser according to claim 23, further including a fragrance flow path outlet and wherein the control means comprises a manually adjustable shutter for varying a size of said outlet. 25. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein at least one of said two sources of fragrance is provided with a means for controlling the control means to alter the release of said fragrances. 26. A fragrance disperser according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said two sources of fragrance includes a pin engageable with a switch included in the control system, engagement of the pin with the switch controlling said control means to alter the release of said fragrances. 27. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said two sources of fragrance includes at least one container including a reservoir for receiving a liquid fragrance and an outlet to the reservoir, the outlet defining a flow path for the flow of air to release fragrance in the reservoir. 28. A fragrance disperser according to claim 27, wherein two of said containers are provided, each flow path being formed at least partially by an outlet of an associated container. 29. A fragrance disperser according to claim 27, wherein said at least one container is separable from a remainder of the disperser for replacement by another container. 30. A fragrance disperser according to claim 27, wherein the two sources of fragrance are provided by a pair of said containers, and wherein said outlet of each said container includes a passage for said air flow, said passage having an entrance at an end of the outlet remote from the reservoir and an exit for fragrance laden air adjacent said reservoir. 31. A fragrance disperser according to claim 4, wherein the housing includes an air inlet and a mounting for supporting the housing on a vertical surface, the air inlet being provided on a side of the housing associated with said mounting. 32. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1: wherein said two sources of fragrance include a pair of containers each comprising a reservoir for receiving a liquid fragrance and an outlet from the reservoir, the containers having respective side surfaces which are closely adjacent or in contact, and further including a means for indicating that the containers are intended to be used as a pair. 33. A fragrance disperser according to claim 32, wherein the reservoirs contain complementary fragrances. 34. A fragrance disperser according to claim 32, wherein said side surfaces have complementary non-planar shapes so that the side surfaces inter-engage when the containers are side-by-side. 35. A fragrance disperser according to claim 32, wherein the containers have respective surfaces leading to said side surfaces, said leading surfaces carrying respective indicia that together form a single pattern. 36. A fragrance disperser according to claim 35, wherein the indicia are raised or lowered portions of said leading surfaces. 37. A fragrance disperser according to claim 35, wherein the indicia are two dimensional. 38. A fragrance disperser according to claim 32, wherein each said outlet defines a path for a flow of air to release the fragrance in the associated reservoir. 39. A fragrance disperser according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said fragrance sources comprises a back sheet and a front sheet with a wicking material therebetween, the back sheet and the front sheet being joined together along a closed line to define a reservoir for fragrance, a portion of the wicking material being exposable outside the closed line for releasing the fragrance, the closed line being such as to allow the wicking material to wick fragrance from the reservoir to the exposable portion. 40. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, wherein the exposable portion is covered by a removable cover. 41. A fragrance disperser according to claim 40, wherein the cover is formed by a portion of the back sheet extending beyond the front sheet and folded over the front sheet. 42. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, wherein the closed line defines two reservoirs, each containing a respective fragrance, each reservoir being associated with a respective exposable release portion. 43. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, wherein the back sheet and the front sheet are formed from plastics materials, the closed line being formed by a weld between the sheets. 44. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, wherein the front sheet and the back sheet are formed in one piece. 45. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, and further comprising a source of electric power connected to the back sheet. 46. A fragrance disperser according to claim 39, further including a heating means for selectively heating the exposable portion to evaporate fragrance from said portion. 47. A fragrance disperser according to claim 46, wherein the wicking material is electrically conductive to provide said heating means. 48. A fragrance disperser according to claim 46, wherein a source of electric power is connected to the back sheet and wherein the electrically conductive material is powered by the source of electric power. 49. A fragrance disperser according to claim 47, wherein the electrically conductive material is powered by mains electricity. 50. A fragrance disperser according to claim 46, wherein the closed line defines two reservoirs, each containing a respective fragrance, each reservoir being associated with a respective exposable release portion and wherein each exposable portion is associated with a respective heater, the heaters being selectively operable to evaporate the associated fragrance. 51. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein each source of fragrance includes a container for fragrance and a wick, said flow of air releasing fragrance from said wick. 52. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein each fragrance has an associated flow path and wherein said control means comprises a size means for controlling a size of an outlet of each respective flow path to control the volume of fragrance emitted. 53. A fragrance disperser according to claim 52, wherein said size means comprises a slidable shutter. 54. A fragrance disperser according to claim 51, wherein said control means comprises a surface means for controlling an exposed surface area of each respective wick. 55. A fragrance disperser according to claim 54, wherein each said surface means comprises a cover slidably mounted on said wick. 56. A fragrance disperser according to claim 52, wherein said control means is manually operable. 57. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein the control means is operable to control power supplied to the fan, thereby controlling a speed of the fan. 58. A fragrance disperser according to claim 11, wherein the control means includes an electrical heating means which evaporates the fragrances for dispersion in the flow of air. 59. A fragrance disperser according to claim 58, wherein the control means is operable to control a power supplied to the electrical heating means, thereby controlling a temperature thereof. 60. A fragrance disperser according to claim 58, wherein the heating means includes two heaters, each heater being associated with a respective said fragrance source. 61. A fragrance disperser according to claim 60, wherein each heater surrounds an associated wick for each source of fragrance. 62. A fragrance disperser according to claim 58, wherein each source of fragrance includes a container for fragrance and a wick, each wick being electrically conductive to form said electrical heating means. 63. A fragrance disperser according to claim 62, wherein each wick is formed from a woven material, said woven material including electrically conductive threads forming said electrical heating means.