Volatile material dispenser, and dispensing screen thereof
AssigneeI&I Developments Ltd.
InventorBrian Parry Slade
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A dispensing screen for dispensing, by evaporation, volatile materials applied thereto, is provided. The screen comprises a sheet of material and diverting means formed in the plane of the sheet. The diverting means form a minimum path length along the length of the sheet between at least a portion of a first edge and an opposing second edge of the sheet, which minimum path length is longer than the distance between the first and second edges along the surface of the sheet. A dispensing apparatus is also provided, which in embodiments includes the dispensing screen of the invention, and in embodiments includes a sink for capturing un-evaporated volatile material.
Claims27
A dispensing screen for dispensing, by evaporation, volatile materials applied thereto, the screen comprising:
- a sheet of permeable material defining a plane, a thickness, and having a first edge secured to a support of the dispensing screen and a second edge;
- and diverting means formed on or in the material of the sheet, wherein the diverting means comprises a plurality of holes formed in the sheet and each extending through the thickness and transverse to the plane, wherein the diverting means form a plurality of flow paths defined between the plurality of holes along the sheet each having a minimum path length, wherein the plurality of flow paths define all of the flow paths for volatile material flowing along the sheet between at least a portion of the first edge of the sheet and the second edge of the sheet, wherein the first and second edges of the sheet are opposite each other and the first edge is at a top of the sheet and the second edge is at a bottom of the sheet, with respect to gravity, wherein the minimum path length of each of the flow paths is longer than the distance between the first and second edges along the surface of the sheet, the minimum flow paths each being defined by a convoluted path in the direction from the first edge to the second edge.
A dispensing apparatus for dispensing volatile materials by evaporation, comprising:
- a reservoir for storing the volatile material before it is dispensed;
- a dispensing screen including:
- a sheet of permeable material defining a plane, a thickness, and having a first edge secured to a support of the dispensing screen and a second edge;
- and diverting means formed on or in the material of the sheet, wherein the diverting means comprises a plurality of holes formed in the sheet and each extending through the thickness and transverse to the plane, wherein the diverting means form a plurality of flow paths defined between the plurality of holes along the sheet each having a minimum path length, wherein the plurality of flow paths define all of the flow paths for volatile material flowing along the sheet between at least a portion of the first edge of the sheet and the second edge of the sheet, wherein the first and second edges of the sheet are opposite each other and the first edge is at a top of the sheet and the second edge is at a bottom of the sheet, with respect to gravity, wherein the minimum path length of each of the flow paths is longer than the distance between the first and second edges along the surface of the sheet, the minimum flow paths each being defined by a convoluted path in the direction from the first edge to the second edge.
A dispensing apparatus for dispensing volatile materials by evaporation, the apparatus comprising a reservoir for material to be dispensed;
- dispensing means configured to allow evaporation of material from the reservoir to be dispensed;
- and a sink, in use below the dispensing means, configured to receive and retain material from the dispensing means which has not evaporated from the dispensing means, wherein the dispensing means comprises a dispensing screen formed from a sheet of permeable material that defines a plane, a thickness, and includes a plurality of holes formed in the sheet of material and extending through the thickness and transverse to the plane, and wherein volatile material is applied to a first edge of the dispensing screen and travels to a second edge of the dispensing screen only along a plurality of flow paths defined between the plurality of holes and each having a convoluted minimum path length longer than the length between the first and second edges, wherein the first and second edges of the dispensing screen are opposite each other, and lateral edges of the screen, which extend between the first and second edges, are wrapped around and joined over at least a portion of their extent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.