SYSTEM FOR SCENTING ROOMS

Abstract

A sustainable system for scenting rooms, having a solid body for the situation and evaporation of a liquid mixture that contains at least one fragrance, the body having a porous, ceramic, and reusable material and the material of the body having an open porosity that is greater than 50%, the mixture having a flash point that is equal to or below 120° C. In addition, a method is described for producing the body and for preparing the system for reuse.

Claims

1. A system for scenting rooms, comprising: a solid body, and a liquid mixture that contains at least one fragrance, the solid body being configured to receive and allow evaporation of the liquid mixture, the solid body comprising a porous, ceramic, and reusable material, with the material of the solid body having an open porosity that is greater than 50%, the liquid mixture having a flash point that is equal to or below 120° C.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic material has a bimodal pore size distribution.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein a first maximum in the pore size distribution for a first group of pores is in a range between 1 mm and 3 mm, and a second maximum in the pore size distribution for a second group of pores is in a range between 0.01 mm and 0.3 mm.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein a median of a pore size distribution is in a range between 0.01 mm and 0.3 mm.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid mixture forms a composition made up essentially of top notes and heart notes.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the solid body is configured to be heated by a heating device for a complete removal of the liquid mixture with a heating temperature being in a range between 200° C. and 1000° C.

7. A body configured to receive and allow an evaporation of a liquid mixture that contains at least one fragrance that is usable in the system according to claim 1, the body comprising a porous, ceramic, and reusable material, the material of the body having an open porosity that is greater than 50% and either having a bimodal pore size distribution, a first maximum in the pore size distribution for a first group of pores being in a range between 1 mm and 3 mm, and a second maximum in the pore size distribution for a second group of pores being in a range between 0.01 mm and 0.3 mm, or a median of a pore size distribution being in a range between 0.01 mm and 0.3 mm.

8. The body according to claim 7, wherein the ceramic material includes a silicate ceramic.

9. The body according to claim 7, wherein the body has on a surface thereof, a relief structure having at least one of a recess or a raised part.

10. The body according to claim 9, wherein the recess or raised part has an elevation differential of up to 1.5 cm relative to the surface of the body.

11. A method for producing the body according to claim 7, comprising the following steps: producing a mixture of unfired clay mineral, water, and fine wood dust, and, optionally, a proportion of wood chips, and sintering the mixture at a temperature between 1000° C. and 1300° C. for a period of time of 3 to 10 hours, at least one of the mixture being shaped before sintering, or the body being brought into a desired shape after sintering.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the mixture is shaped before sintering by pressing or casting.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the mixture is shaped after sintering by at least one of cutting or grinding.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein a weight ratio of unfired clay mineral, to fine wood dust and optionally a proportion of wood chips, to water in the mixture is 1:(0.45 to 0.8):(0.9 to 1.2).

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein a weight ratio of wood chips to fine wood dust in the mixture is 1:(1.2 to 2), if wood chips are used.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein when the body is pressed before the sintering, a relief structure is pressed into a surface of the body by a punch.

17. The system according to claim 1, additionally comprising a dispenser having a housing configured to receive the solid body, the housing having a form of a can, and a receipt of the solid body in the housing taking place in such a way that, at least in an open state of the housing, the housing is configured to allow the liquid mixture to evaporate and escape into a surrounding environment.

18. A method for preparing the system according to claim 1, wherein after use, the solid body is baked in a heating device at a temperature between 200° C. and 1000° C.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the solid body is baked in the heating device at a temperature between 200° C. and 650° C.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein after baking, the solid body is refilled with a liquid mixture such that the liquid mixture is absorbed into the solid body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show a first embodiment of a system according to the present invention in a perspective view from the side, with the cover (FIG. 1) and without cover (FIG. 2),

[0050] FIGS. 3 and 4 schematically show a second embodiment of a system according to the present invention in a perspective view from the side, with cover (FIG. 4) and without cover (FIG. 3),

[0051] FIGS. 5 to 8 schematically show a third embodiment of a system according to the present invention, FIG. 5 showing the body in a perspective view from the side, FIG. 6 showing the housing in a perspective view from the side, FIG. 7 showing the housing in a view from above, and FIG. 8 showing the housing in a perspective view from below,

[0052] FIGS. 9 and 10 schematically show the third embodiment in different variants of the housing design in a perspective view from the side, and

[0053] FIG. 11 schematically shows the body of a further exemplary embodiment of the system according to the present invention in a partial view from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0054] A first embodiment of a system according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The system has a hollow-cylindrical can-shaped housing 1, closed at the bottom, with a circular and removable cover 2 situated at the top, which closes off the interior of housing 1 from the surrounding environment. In the drawing of FIG. 2—with cover 2 removed—the interior of housing 1 can be seen. A cylindrical, self-supporting, solid and porous body 5 is situated there. Inside the body is situated the liquid mixture having at least one fragrance, which, when cover 2 is open, is released by evaporation into the surrounding space, thereby scenting it. When cover 2 is closed, the mixture cannot escape, because cover 2 seals housing 1 airtight with its surrounding rim. With cover 2 open, body 5 can also be removed in order to be freed of mixture residue by baking in a heating device and/or to be filled with a new, differently scented mixture.

[0055] In the second exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, analogous to the first exemplary embodiment, a hollow-cylindrical housing 11 closed at the bottom is provided, which is closed by a removable cover 12 situated at the top. Inside housing 11 is situated cylindrical, solid, self-supporting and porous body 15 with the mixture accommodated in the body. Cover 12 has a plurality of circular through-openings 12a which, even when closed, allow the mixture to escape into the surrounding space for scenting. Cover 12 also has a tab 12b projecting in the radial direction (with respect to the axis extending through housing 11 or body 15) at the lower edge of the surrounding rim, which allows cover 12 to be easily grasped and pulled off.

[0056] The third exemplary embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, also has a hollow cylindrical housing 21 which is closed at the top, but has in its upper side a plurality of round or oval through-openings 21a which have different diameters (see top view in FIG. 7) and through which mixture evaporating from body 25 can escape into the surrounding space. In this embodiment, a cover 22 is situated on the underside, which closes housing 21 tightly and also in airtight fashion on this side, but can be removed in order to remove body 25. The self-supporting, ceramic, solid and porous body 25 is shown in FIG. 5 without housing 21. Body 25 is situated inside housing 21, as shown in FIG. 7, because the upper side of the body is visible through openings 21a. FIGS. 9 and 10 show two variants of the third exemplary embodiment with various decorations situated on the jacket surface of housing 21. These may be realized as engravings, colored printing, or the like.

[0057] In the above exemplary embodiments, the jacket surface may additionally or alternatively be provided with through-openings for the escape of the mixture.

[0058] The housing 1, 11, 21 of the above-explained exemplary embodiments of a system according to the present invention is made, for example, of high-grade steel or polypropylene.

[0059] The cylindrical porous body 5, 15, 25 for accommodating the mixture can be produced, for example, according to the following method. First, a mixture is produced of 1 kg of clay mineral (e.g., with the composition and mass fraction SiO2 73.9%, TiO2 0.7%, Al2O3 17.3%, Fe2O3 0.6%, CaO 6.0%, MgO 0.2%, K2O 1.2% and Na2O 0.2%), 250 g of softwood chips (pig meal) and 300 g to 500 g of beech fine dust, both, e.g., from the company Thomsen Räucherspäne Räucherholz GmbH & Co. KG, and 1 to 1.1 kg of water, using a Z-arm mixer. The ingredients are mixed for approximately 20 minutes. Then cylindrical green bodies are produced from the mixture using a pot press. These green bodies are then sintered at a temperature of 1150° C. to 1200° C. for 4 to 7 hours in air under normal pressure. If necessary, the sintered bodies can then be reshaped by grinding or cutting until the respective sintered body has the required dimensions and/or shape.

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 11, during production of the green body a relief structure can be pressed into the surface of the body in a press (e.g., a pot press) using a suitably shaped punch. FIG. 11 shows an example of a body 35 for the production of which only beech fine dust was used (no softwood chips), with a relief structure 35a in the form of a depression consisting of various characters in the surface of body 35. The depression extends a few millimeters into the surface of body 35. The relief structure is also retained during sintering, but its dimensions may change during sintering, in a manner analogous to the body.

[0061] After the finished body has been placed in a dispenser with a housing 21 according to FIGS. 5 to 8, a certain predetermined amount of liquid mixture (e.g. 50 g) having at least one fragrance is further added to the body so that the mixture is absorbed into the body.

[0062] Housing 21 can then be closed at the bottom with cover 22. The completed system is then packaged in an airtight manner so that the mixture having at least one fragrance cannot escape before its intended use.

[0063] An example of a mixture containing a number of fragrances is a “Fresh Cotton” mixture. This blend has a flash point of 91° C. (at normal pressure) and is therefore very suitable for use in scenting a room and for use with the porous body described above. The mixture contains a relatively high proportion of acetates, which are cyclic, aromatic and aliphatic with at least 6 C-atoms.

TABLE-US-00001 Portion CAS no. Name of the component (wt %) 140-11-4 BENZYL ACETATE 10-25 32210-23-4 4-tert-Butylcyclohexyl acetate 10-25 58430-94-7 3,5,5-Trimethylhexyl acetate 10-25 115-95-7 Linalyl acetate  5-10 142-92-7 N-HEXYL ACETATE  1-10 18479-58-8 2,6-DIMETHYL-7-OCTEN-2-OL 1-5 110-98-5 1,1′-OXYDIPROPANOL 1-5 112-31-2 1-DECANAL 1-5 88-41-5 2-TERTIARY-BUTYLCYCLOHEXYL 1-5 ACETATE 79-77-6 (E)-4-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-en-l-yl)- 1-5 but-3-en-2-one 17511-60-3 TRICYCLO DECENYL PROPIONATE 1-5 2500-83-6 TRICYCLO DECENYL ACETATE 1-5 101-84-8 DIPHENYL ETHER 1-5 80-26-2 P-MENTH-1-EN-8-YL ACETATE 1-5 81786-73-4 Acetyl diisoamylene, Z 1-5 51566-62-2 3,7-dimethyloct-6-enenitrile 0.1-5   706-14-9 gamma-Decalactone 0.1-5   110-41-8 2-Methylundecanal 0.1-1   14765-30-1 2-(1-METHYLPROPYL)CYCLOHEXANONE 0.1-1   470-82-6 1,8-Cineole 0.1-1   67634-15-5 A-DIMETHYL HYDROCINNAMALDEHYDE 0.1-1   93-92-5 METHYL PHENYL CARBINYL ACETATE 0.1-1   1191-16-8 3-Methyl-2-butenyl acetate 0.1-1   124-13-0 1-OCTANAL 0.1-1   67634-00-8 ISO-AMYL OXYACETIC 0.1-1   ACID ALLYLESTER 85-91-6 Methyl N-methylanthranilate 0.1-1   137-03-1 2-N-HEPTYL CYCLOPENTANONE 0.1-1   106-72-9 2,6-DIMETHYL-5-HEPTENAL 0.1-1   93-04-9 2-Methoxynaphthalene 0.1-1   141-13-9 2,6,10-Trimethyl-9-undecenal 0.1-1   928-96-1 BETA GAMMA HEXENOL EXTRA 0.1-1   54464-57-2 7-ACETYL-(1,8)-OCTAHYDRO-1,1,6,7- 0.1-1   TETRAMETHYLNAPTHALENE 18127-01-0 3-(4-TERTBUTYLPHENYL)PROPANAL 0.1-1   19870-74-7 CERDYL METHYL ETHER 0.1-1   68039-49-6 2,4-DIMETHYLCYCLOHEXENE-3- 0.1-1   CARBALDEHYDE 3681-71-8 HEXENYL ACETATE CIS-3 0.1-1   70788-30-6 1-(2,2,6-trimethylcyclohexyl)hexan-3-ol 0.1-1   106185-75-5 2-ETHYL-4-(2,2,3-TRIMETHYL-3- 0.1-1   CYCLOPENTEN-1-YL)-2-BUTEN-1-OL 151-05-3 APLHA, ALPHA-DIMETHYL 0.1-1   PHENETHYL ACETATE 67634-20-2 Tricyclodecenyl-8-isobutyrate 0.1-1   13019-22-2 9-DECENOL 0.1-1   99-49-0 CARVONE 0.1-1   68901-15-5 ACETIC ACID, 0.1-1   (CYCLOHEXYLOXY): ALLYL ESTER 5986-55-0 Patchouli alcohol 0.1-1   (NATURAL CONSTITUENT) 93-08-3 Methyl beta-naphthyl ketone 0.1-1   4707-47-5 Methyl atrarate 0.1-1   87-44-5 CARYOPHELENE CRUDE 0.1-1   79-78-7 ALLYL IONONE 0.1-1   87731-18-8 CYCLOOCTEN-4 AND 5-YL 0.1-1   METHYL CARBONATE 110-27-0 Isopropyl myristate 0.1-1   122-03-2 CUMIN ALDEHYDE 0.1-1   65442-31-1 2-(2-METHYLPROPYL)-QUINOLINE 0.1-1   2277-19-2 CIS 6 NONENAL 0.1-1   35854-86-5 CIS 6 NONENOL 0.1-1  

[0064] Here, the above composition of the mixture is made such that all the ingredients together yield 100% by weight.

[0065] A quantity of 50 g of the above mixture “Fresh Cotton” will have completely escaped from the porous body in a 20 m2 room after two to three months. No residue is left.

[0066] Another mixture that can be used in the ceramic body described above is called “Morning Dew.” This mixture has the following composition and has a flash point that is between 100° C. and 120° C.

TABLE-US-00002 Portion CAS no. Name of the component (wt %) 112-54-9 DODECANAL 0.1-1   67634-00-8 ISO-AMYL OXYACETIC 1-5 ACID ALLYLESTER 2705-87-5 ALLYL CYCLOHEXANEPROPIONATE 1-5 7493-74-5 ACETIC ACID, PHENOXY ALLYL ESTER 1-5 140-11-4 BENZYL ACETATE 1-5 122-63-4 BENZYL N-PROPANOATE small portion 99-49-0 CARVONE 0.1-1   2500-83-6 TRICYCLO DECENYL ACETATE small portion 103-95-7 2-METHYL-4- 1-5 ISOPROPYLDIHYDROCINNAMALDEHYDE 68901-15-5 ACETIC ACID, (CYCLOHEXYLOXY): 0.1-1   ALLYL ESTER 18479-58-8 2,6-DIMETHYL-7-OCTEN-2-OL 1-5 10094-34-5 ALPHA,ALPHA-DIMETHYL 1-5 PHENETHYL BUTYRATE 151-05-3 APLHA, ALPHA-DIMETHYL small PHENETHYL ACETATE portion 110-98-5 1,1′-OXYDIPROPANOL small portion 105-95-3 TRICANEDIOIC ACID: CYCLI small portion 67634-15-5 A-DIMETHYL 1-5 HYDROCINNAMALDEHYDE 125109-85-5 3-(3-ISOPROPYLPHENYL)BUTANAL small portion 63500-71-0 2-(2-METHYL PROPYL)-4-HYDROXY-4- 1-5 METHYL TETRAHYDROPYRAN 67634-20-2 Tricyclodecenyl-8-isobutyrate 0.1-1   105-87-3 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-yl-acetate 1-5 125-12-2 EXO-1,7,7TRIMETHYLBICYCLO(2.2.1) small HEPT-2YL ACETATE portion 1335-66-6 3-CYCLOHEXENE-1-CARBOXALDEHYDE, 0.1-1   2,4,6-TRIMETHYL 38285-49-3 4-ACETOXY-3- small PENTYLTETRAHYDROPYRAN portion 706-14-9 gamma-Decalactone small portion 67633-96-9 cis-3-hexenyl methyl carbonate 0.1-1   2216-51-5 DL-MENTHOL small portion 141-12-8 Neryl acetate small portion 103-60-6 2-Phenoxyethyl isobutyrate small portion 103-48-0 2-phenylethyl 2-methylpropanoate small portion 93-92-5 METHYL PHENYL CARBINYL ACETATE small portion 78-69-3 3-OCTANOL, 3,7-DIMETHYL-Octanol 10-25 81782-77-6 4-METHYL-3-DECEN-5-OL  5-10 65443-14-3 2,2,5-Trimethyl-5-pentylcyclopentanone small portion

[0067] The above composition of the mixture is made such that all the ingredients together yield 100% by weight.

[0068] A quantity of 50 g of the above fragrance mixture “Morning Dew” will have completely escaped from the porous body after two to three months in a 20 m2 room. No residue is left.

[0069] One of the mixtures shown above can be used in the above system. For use, the airtight packaging is removed and the dispenser is placed in a desired location in a room. There, the mixture slowly escapes through openings 21a of housing 21 into the air of the room and scents it. After a few weeks to 4 months, either the mixture has completely escaped from body 25 or residue is still contained in body 25. In the second case, the body is removed from housing 21 by removing the cover on the bottom of housing 21, and is tempered (baked) in air in a sintering furnace at a temperature between 650° C. and 900° C. to remove the residual amount of mixture remaining in body 25. Subsequently, body 25 can be refilled with a (different or the same) mixture. In the case of complete evaporation of the fragrance mixture from body 25, such baking is not necessary and the body can be refilled immediately. Housing 21 is then closed again by closing cover 22.

[0070] Because of the reusability of the system (about 10,000 times is possible), considerable amounts of packaging and containers can be saved which otherwise would have been discarded after each use of a predetermined amount of fragrance. Therefore, the system according to the present invention contributes to environmental protection.

[0071] While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms “comprise” or “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms “a” or “one” do not exclude a plural number, and the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.