EP-4739359-A2 - METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DISPENSING A VOLATILE MATERIAL

Abstract

A volatile material dispenser that includes a housing, a heater disposed within the housing, and a refill having a container with a volatile material disposed therein. A wick is in fluid communication with the volatile material and in thermal communication with the heater, which is a dual-section heating element that includes a first section and a second section that is spaced from the first section.

Inventors

• ADAIR, JOEL E.
• HASIK, SEBASTIAN D.

Assignees

• S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240703

Claims (20)

1. 1. A volatile material dispenser, comprising: a housing; a heater disposed within the housing; and a refill having a container with a volatile material disposed therein and a wick in fluid communication with the volatile material and in thermal communication with the heater, wherein the heater is a dual-section heating element that includes a first section and a second section that is spaced from the first section.
2. 2. The volatile material dispenser of claim 1, wherein the heater and the wick have an elliptic cross section.
3. 3. The volatile material dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the heater is a warm section and the second section of the heater is a cool section.
4. 4. The volatile material dispenser of claim 3, wherein the warm section of the heater is smaller than the cool section of the heater.
5. 5. The volatile material dispenser of claim 4, wherein the dispenser includes a first configuration in which the wick is disposed near the warm section of the heater and the dispenser outputs a first fragrance characteristic and a second configuration in which the wick is disposed near the cool section of the heater and the dispenser outputs a second fragrance characteristic, and wherein the dispenser outputs a similar intensity of the first fragrance characteristic when the dispenser is in the first configuration as it does the second fragrance characteristic when the dispenser is in the second configuration.
6. 6. The volatile material dispenser of claim 5, wherein the wick is configured to be moveable to allow the dispenser to transition between the first configuration and the second configuration.
7. 7. The volatile material dispenser of claim 5, wherein the heater is configured to be moveable to allow the dispenser to transition between the first configuration and the second configuration.
8. 8. The volatile material dispenser of claim 5, wherein a temperature of the warm section of the heater and a temperature of the cool section of the heater are at least 30°C apart.
9. 9. The volatile material dispenser of claim 8, wherein the temperature of the warm section of the heater and the temperature of the cool section of the heater are at least 60°C apart.
10. 10. A method of operating a volatile material dispenser comprising the steps of: providing a volatile material dispenser that includes an air enhancement mechanism, a heater disposed within a housing that produces a convection zone, and a refill having a wick in fluid communication with a volatile material disposed within a container; adjusting a temperature of the heater to adjust a fragrance characteristic that is released from evaporated volatile material during an operation cycle of the volatile material dispenser; and adjusting the air flow into the convection zone by using the air enhancement mechanism to control an intensity of the fragrance characteristic that is released during the operation cycle of the volatile material dispenser, wherein the air enhancement mechanism used for adjusting the air flow into the convection zone is a cylindrical chimney sheath that defines a height and includes at least a first air port and a second air port that each extend therethrough and define heights, and wherein a bridge of material is disposed on opposing sides of each air port such that each bridge extends between the first air port and the second air port.
11. 11. The method of operating a volatile material dispenser of claim 10, wherein the height of at least one of the air ports is between about 5% and about 20% of the chimney sheath height.
12. 12. The method of operating a volatile material dispenser of claim 10, wherein the height of at least one of the air ports is between about 30% and about 50% of the chimney sheath height.
13. 13. The method of operating a volatile material dispenser of claim 10, wherein at least one air port is disposed entirely within a bottom 50% of the chimney sheath height.
14. 14. The method of operating a volatile material dispenser of claim 10, wherein the first air port and the second air port are disposed on opposing sides of the chimney sheath.
15. 15. The method of operating a volatile material dispenser of claim 14, wherein the first air port and the second air port of the chimney sheath are rectangular.
16. 16. A volatile material dispenser, comprising: a housing; a heater disposed within the housing; and a refill having a container with a volatile material disposed therein and a wick in fluid communication with the volatile material and in thermal communication with the heater, wherein the heater is configured to collapse when moving closer to the wick and expand when moving farther from the wick.
17. 17. The volatile material dispenser of claim 16, wherein the dispenser includes an airflow enhancement mechanism in the form of a chimney sheath.
18. 18. The volatile material dispenser of claim 16, wherein the heater is in the form of a tri-sectional heating element.
19. 19. The volatile material dispenser of claim 18, wherein the sectional heating elements are connected with a wire and are in direct contact when in a fully collapsed configuration.
20. 20. The volatile material dispenser of claim 19, wherein the heater in the fully collapsed configuration is oriented above the wick.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DISPENSING A VOLATILE MATERIAL CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial Number 63/525,085, filed on July 5, 2023, and entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DISPENSING A VOLATILE MATERIAL,” the entire content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and is considered a part of this application. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure [0002] The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for dispensing volatile materials, and more particularly, to systems and methods for volatizing a liquid containing a mixture of fragrances to achieve a desired volatile material character and intensity across a variety of use cases to improve a user’s experience. 2. Description of the Background of the Disclosure [0003] A multitude of volatile material diffusion devices or diffusers exist in the marketplace. Many of these devices are passive devices that require only ambient air flow to disperse the active liquid material therein. Other devices are battery-powered or receive household power via a plug extending from the device. Some known diffusers include a heating element for heating a volatile material to promote vaporization thereof. Other diffusers employ a fan or blower to generate air flow to direct volatile material out of the diffuser into the surrounding environment. Still other diffusers that dispense volatile materials utilize ultrasonic means to dispense the volatile materials therefrom. Fragrance compositions that are used in the aforementioned volatile material dispensers are composed of a mixture of volatile perfume raw materials, and it is not uncommon for a fragrance composition to be composed of over twenty different perfume raw materials. The chemical properties of perfume raw materials in a fragrance composition often vary widely in terms of polarity, density, vapor pressure, flash point, and other properties. [0004] A problem with past volatile material dispensers is the inability to control both an intensity and fragrance character of the volatile material dispensed therefrom. While it is possible to emanate fragrance characteristics of a volatile material by applying different amounts of heat to isolate particular fragrance characteristics, an increase in applied heat necessarily results in a higher intensity of volatile that is dispensed to the surrounding environment. As a result, methods and systems for controlling both an intensity and fragrance character of a volatile material are useful. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE [0005] In some embodiments, a volatile material dispenser includes a housing that defines a chimney aperture, a heater disposed within the housing, and a refill having a container with a volatile material disposed therein. A wick is in fluid communication with the volatile material and in thermal communication with the heater. An airflow enhancement mechanism is disposed within the housing. The heater is configured to heat the volatile material to a first temperature to achieve a first fragrance characteristic and is further configured to heat the volatile material to a second temperature to achieve a second fragrance characteristic that is different than the first fragrance characteristic. The airflow enhancement mechanism is configured to achieve a first fragrance intensity at a first setting and is further configured to achieve a second fragrance intensity at a second setting that is different than the first setting. [0006] In some embodiments, the heater is a first heater, and the airflow enhancement mechanism includes a second heater. In some embodiments, the second heater is movable and the first heater is a static heater. In some embodiments the heater includes a third heater. In some embodiments, the first temperature and the second temperature are at least 30°C apart. In some embodiments, the airflow enhancement mechanism includes a wick sheath. In some embodiments, the airflow enhancement mechanism includes a mechanical output adjuster. In some embodiments, the airflow enhancement mechanism includes a chimney sheath. In some embodiments, the heater has a cooler portion and a warmer portion. In some embodiments, the heater is configured such that the cooler portion is larger than the warmer portion. In some embodiments, the wick is movable closer to and farther from the warmer portion and the cooler portion. In some embodiments, the heater is configured to collapse and expand when moving farther from and closer to the wick, respectively. [0007] In some embodiments, a volatile material dispenser includes a housing, a heater disposed within the housing, and a refill having a container with a volatile material disposed therein. The refill includes a wick that is in fluid communication with the volatile material and that is in thermal communication with the heater. In some embodiments, the heater of the volatil