DEVICE FOR EVAPORATING VOLATILE SUBSTANCES

Abstract

The invention relates to an evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances, comprising a container (1) housing a liquid (8) containing the volatile substances, an outlet (2) through which the volatile substances exit and a hole (9) for equalizing the pressure between the inside and the outside of the container, and characterized in that it also comprises a membrane (6) placed between the container (1) and the hole (9), said membrane (6) being leak-tight with respect to said liquid (8) and porous with respect to the gases.

This membrane prevents the liquid from accidentally spilling and furthermore solves the issue of balancing pressures inside the container, keeping the rate of evaporation constant until running out of the volatile substances.

Claims

1. Evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances, comprising a container (1) housing a liquid (8) containing the volatile substances, an outlet (2) through which the volatile substances exit and a hole (9) for equalizing the pressure between the inside and the outside of the container, characterized in that it also comprises a membrane (6) placed between the container (1) and the hole (9), said membrane (6) being leak-tight with respect to said liquid (8) and porous with respect to the gases.

2. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein said membrane (6) is microporous.

3. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein said membrane (6) is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene or polyethylene.

4. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein said membrane (6) is mounted in a casing (7).

5. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein said hole (9) is defined in a plug (3) closing said container (1).

6. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 5, wherein said casing (7) is mounted inside said plug (3).

7. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein said hole (9) is closed by means of a cover (4) before the first use of the device.

8. The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to claim 7, wherein said cover (4) is a stopper or a sheet material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] To better understand the preceding description, several drawings are attached which schematically depict a practical embodiment by way of non-limiting example.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to the present invention, in its position before the first use;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to the present invention, during use; and

[0020] FIG. 3 is a section view of the central part of the evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0021] The evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to the present invention comprises a container 1 housing a liquid 8 containing said volatile substances which will be evaporated out into the environment, preferably in a passive manner, through an outlet 2 defined in a plug 3. Preferably, said outlet 2 is provided with a wick 10 so that the volatile substances are evaporated as intended.

[0022] To prevent the volatile substances to exit during storage of the device of the present invention before the first use, said outlet 2 is closed by means of a cover 4, such as a sheet material, as can be seen in FIG. 1, or by means of any suitable closure element, for example a stopper or the like.

[0023] In the event of using a sheet material, it can be made of aluminum and be welded or adhered onto the plug 3, closing the outlet 2. In order to make it easier to remove the sheet material, it can comprise a tab 5, as seen in FIG. 1.

[0024] Furthermore, the evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances also comprises a hole 9 for equalizing the pressure between the inside and the outside of the container, each membrane 6 being placed between the container 1 and the hole 2, said membrane 6 being leak-tight with respect to said liquid and porous with respect to the gases, allowing said volatile substances to exit and allowing air to enter from the outside. This hole 9 will also be closed by said cover 4 before the first use of the evaporation device.

[0025] As can be seen in FIG. 3, this membrane 6 is preferably mounted in a casing 7, which is in turn placed inside the plug 3. Both the casing 7 and the plug 3 are preferably made of plastic material, although they could be made of any suitable material.

[0026] According to a preferred embodiment, the membrane 6 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, although it could be made of any other suitable material allowing it to be leak-tight with respect to the liquid but porous with respect to the gases in a two-way manner.

[0027] The porous membrane 6 also has the following technical features:

[0028] The membrane 6 has a resistance against water going through same, measured in terms of pressure, greater than 0.3 bar.

[0029] The nominal airflow is at least 0.1 l/h.

[0030] The working temperature range of the membrane 6 is from −40° C. to 120° C.

[0031] The general diameter of the casing of the membrane is greater than 3 mm in diameter.

[0032] The operation of the evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances according to the present invention is as follows:

[0033] When the evaporation device is to be used for the first time, the cover 4 will have to be removed, which can be done by simply pulling on the tab 5. The user will then have to insert the wick into the outlet 2.

[0034] By removing the cover 4, volatile substances contained in the liquid 8 will be allowed to exit through the outlet 2 by means of the wick 10. Furthermore, air will also be allowed to enter into the container 1, going through the membrane 6 arranged in the hole 9, for equalizing the pressures on the inside and on the outside of the container 1, as a result of the gas permeability of the membrane 6.

[0035] However, leak-tightness with respect to the liquid of the evaporation device is assured as a result of the feature of the membrane 6 that prevents the liquid from passing through said membrane 6.

[0036] In an alternative embodiment, the cover 4 may be applied on just the hole 9 and not on the outlet 2.

[0037] Although the described system is designed to be a passive system, releasing the volatile substances without the action of another element, it could obviously be used with other known evaporation systems such as heating elements, fans, etc.

[0038] Despite having made reference to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the described evaporation device for evaporating volatile substances is susceptible to a number of variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be replaced with other technically equivalent details without departing from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.