Scent dispenser

A device (10) for dispensing a scent is disclosed which includes a container (12) having a first end (13) with an opening (16) therein and a second closed end (14). The scent is held in an absorbent body of material (20) which is disposed within the interior of the container (12). Retaining means (25) releasably holds the scent-holding body (20) within the container (12). A cover (30) is provided which can be secured upon either end (13, 14) of the container (12) in a manner enclosing that portion of the container. A sealing ring (40) and sealing disc (44) prevent the scent from being released when the cover (30) encloses the opening end (13) of the container (12).

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to devices for dispensing scents and more 
particularly to scent dispensers used in hunting, trapping, and other 
wildlife activities. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Almost all hunters and trappers use some means for masking or eliminating 
their ever present human scent in order to be able to move as close to the 
prey as possible. Generally, a concentrated solution, such as the scent of 
a deer, is applied directly to a portion of the hunter's clothing or to a 
separate item which can be somehow secured to the hunter. As the hunter 
proceeds through the woods or field, the artificial scent is left in his 
trail, thereby masking or disguising any characteristic human scent which 
would otherwise have been the noticeable scent left behind. Animal scents 
are also used to attract animals as well as to mask a person's scent, and 
are used by wildlife photographers and other nature enthusiasts in 
addition to hunters and trappers. 
Whatever the specific use, artificial scents are a necessary item for most 
if not all users to achieve successful results in their hunting, trapping, 
or other outdoor activities. Prior art devices for dispensing animal 
scents have oftentimes proven unsatisfactory for various reasons. One type 
of prior art is the use of a simple sponge or pad attached to a piece of 
plastic. The plastic piece is securable to the user's clothing. However, 
there is no cover provided to enclose the saturated sponge or pad when the 
scent is no longer needed. The scent then becomes an offensive odor as it 
continues to be released in the hunter's vehicle or home, unless the pad 
is immediately disposed of or cleaned after each use. Another prior art 
device uses a cover which screws down around the scented body shutting off 
the odor. However, as the cover is unscrewed and the scent-carrying body 
is exposed, not only is the scent released but undesirable dripping of the 
scented liquid occurs if the user accidentally over-saturates the pad. 
What is needed then is a scenting device which eliminates the mess of the 
old devices, is long lasting, reusable and convenient, and provides a 
dependable seal whenever the user desires to prevent the release of the 
scent. The present invention answers these needs and provides other 
benefits which will be detailed below. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a device designed to dispense a scent and includes 
a container having a generally hollow interior, a side wall, a closed end, 
and an end with an opening. Deposited within the container is a 
sponge-like body which holds the scent. Retaining members projecting from 
the periphery of the opening into the container interior releasably retain 
the scent-holding body within this container. A cover is also provided 
which can be secured over either end of the container to either seal the 
container to prevent loss of the scent or to permit the scent to escape 
from the container through the container's opening. The cover also 
includes means for securing the entire device to a separate object. 
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scent 
dispensing device having a cover designed to be positioned on the 
container of the device so as to allow either the release of the scent 
from the container or the sealing of the scent within the container. 
According to another aspect of the present invention, a scent holding body 
is provided which can be removed from the device and easily returned to 
the interior of the container for further use. 
A further aspect of the invention provides a means for securing the entire 
device to a separate object such as a hunter's outer clothing or a bush.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to the 
same aspect of the invention throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 and 2 
illustrate the present invention and its two modes of use. In FIG. 1, the 
parts of the invention are in sealing relation with respect to each other. 
In FIG. 2, the parts are positioned so that a scent contained in the 
device 10 can be released from the device. These two relationships will be 
discussed in further detail after the following discussion of the various 
individual parts of the device 10, herein referred to as the scent 
dispenser. 
The central aspect of the scent dispenser 10 is a container 12 having a 
generally circular cross-section and a substantially hollow interior. The 
interior of the container is defined by a first end 13, a second end 14, 
and a cylindrical side wall 15. The second end 14 is completely closed. 
The first end 13 has a centrally located opening 16 as can be seen in FIG. 
2. The cylindrical side wall 15 extends between the first end 13 and the 
closed second end 14. Extending along the outer surface 17 of the side 
wall 15 is a continuous raised surface portion 18 forming a generally 
helical pattern. See FIGS. 3 and 4. The raised surface portion 18 is 
designed to be threaded with another raised surface portion for purposes 
to be discussed further below. The raised surface portion 18 of the side 
wall 15 extends substantially from end to end of the side wall 15. 
As partially seen in FIG. 2 and more definitely illustrated in FIG. 4, a 
means for holding a scent, e.g., a deer, bear, moose, or skunk scent, 
commercially available in concentrated liquid form, is placed within the 
interior of the container 12. In the preferred embodiment, the scent 
holding means is a sponge-like body or pad of absorbent material 20, 
capable of being saturated with the scent. Whatever type of absorbent 
material is used, it must have a flexible construction in order to be 
inserted into and removed from the container 12 through the first end 
opening 16. The absorbent material or pad 20 is reusable and should be of 
the type easily cleaned with plain water. 
Means cooperating with the container 12 releasably hold the scent holding 
pad 20 within the container interior. The retaining means in the preferred 
embodiment is shown as a plurality of retaining members or ribs 25 
projecting into the interior of the container 12 from locations along the 
periphery of the container opening 16. See FIGS. 2 and 4. Each member or 
rib 25 has an end portion 26 which terminates at a point intermediate the 
container's first end 13 and second end 14 as shown in FIG. 5. The 
retaining members 25 hold the scent holding material or pad 20 away from 
direct contact with the first end 13 of the container 12. A space is then 
provided within the container interior between the container's first end 
13 and the surface of the scent holding material nearest the container's 
opening 16. This space allows the scent to build up within the container 
and then be more effectively released from the container opening 16. 
The cover 30 for the container 12 serves also as a backing for the 
container during the scent releasing time of use. The cover has a 
generally circular cross-section, and it is designed with a diameter size 
large enough to enclose an end portion of the container 12, as shown in 
FIGS. 1-4. The cover 30 has a closed or solid end 31, an open end 32 and a 
cylindrical side wall 33 extending between the two ends 31, 32. The 
cylindrical side wall 33 has an outer surface 34 and an inner surface 35. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, means for securing the cover 30 to the container 
12 are located on the interior surface 35 of the cover side wall 33. This 
securing means includes a second continuous raised surface portion 36 
which forms a helical pattern. The raised surface portion 36 extends 
substantially the full width of the side wall 33. The two helical patterns 
of raised surface portions 18, 36, one on the container side wall 15 and 
the other on the cover side wall outer surface 34, respectively, are 
constructed to be threaded together so that the surfaces mate with respect 
to each other as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the helical patterns are designed 
to allow the cover 30 to be threaded onto the container 12 in a direction 
originating from either end 13, 14 of the container 12, as illustrated by 
FIGS. 1 and 2. It is this type of securing means which allows the scent 
dispenser 10 to be sealed or open as determined by which end of the 
container 12 the cover 30 presently encloses. 
Also as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of spaced apart, substantially 
elongated raised surface portions 37 are located along the outer surface 
34 of the cover side wall 33. This arrangement provides a gripping means 
for the user as he or she threads the cover 30 onto or off the respective 
container end portions 13, 14. 
The container 12 also includes means for preventing the escape or release 
of the scent from the container 12 when the cover 30 is enclosing the 
container opening end 13. The preventing means is a sealing ring 40 
projecting outwardly from the periphery of the container opening 16. The 
ring 40 has a generally circular end edge 41 with a raised surface portion 
42. The raised surface portion 42 is designed to contact and seal against 
the cover inner surface 38 when the container first end 13 is enclosed by 
the cover 30. See FIG. 3. To ensure an even tighter seal when the scent 
being held in the container is quite offensive, e.g., skunk scent, an 
additional sealing element can be used. This element is a sealing disc 44, 
shown in FIG. 7, which is disposed between the cover end 31 and the 
container sealing ring 40, shown in FIG. 6. The disc 44 is substantially 
equal in size to the area of the inner surface of the cover closed end 31. 
Its size allows it to be snapped into the cover flush against the interior 
surface 38 of the closed end 31 and held in place by a segment of the 
cover raised surface portion 36. The sealing disc 44 can be made of either 
solid rubber, soft plastic, or another suitable sealing material. As can 
be seen in FIG. 6, the raised surface portion 42 of the sealing ring 40 
protrudes into the sealing disc 44 and together the ring and disc prevent 
any scent from accidentally seeping out of the enclosed container opening 
16. 
Also provided on the scent dispenser 10 are means for attaching the 
dispenser 10 to a separate object. In the preferred embodiment, the 
particular means chosen to illustrate this aspect of the invention is a 
locking block/safety pin combination. As seen most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 
4, the locking block 45 is a projecting portion of the outer surface of 
the cover solid end 31; however, the block 45 may be a separate item 
mounted to the cover end 31. The locking block 45 is substantially a 
rectangular, box-shaped element and has a slot 46 extending along the 
length of the element. The slot 46 has a bottom wall and two opposing side 
walls. A safety pin 48 is inserted into the slot and is retained within 
the slot by means of a pair of non-aligned, adjacent protrusions 47, seen 
most clearly in FIG. 4. The protrusions 47 cooperate with the slot to 
allow a narrow passageway for the safety pin 48 to be passed into and out 
of the locking block 45, yet the off-center arrangement of the protrusions 
47 assures the pin 48 will not accidentally be released from the locking 
block. The pin 48, of course, is replaceable. 
With the exception of the safety pin 48, the sealing disc 44, and the scent 
holding material 20, the other parts of the dispenser 10, the cover 30, 
the container 12, the retaining members 25, the sealing ring 40, and the 
locking block 45 are all made from molded plastic. Many types of plastic 
materials would be suitable for the purposes of the invention, however, it 
should be a type which will endure usage in various outdoor weather 
conditions. 
To use the scent dispenser, a small amount of a scent is poured into the 
container opening 16 onto the pad 20 and allowed to penetrate and saturate 
the pad. With the cover 30 secured on the container second end 14 and the 
container opening 16 left exposed, the dispenser is then pinned to the 
user's outer clothing or on a bush near the user. Because the safety pin 
48 can slide back and forth along the slot 46 there is sufficient room for 
a small tree branch or twig of a bush to be inserted through the pin and 
the dispenser is then fastened with the safety pin to the bush or tree. 
Should the pad 20 be accidentally over-saturated it can be easily removed 
from the container interior and the excess scent discarded. To remove the 
pad 20 merely requires the use of a relatively sharp instrument, e.g., a 
pocket knife or a stick, to pull an edge of the pad 20 past an end of one 
of the retaining members 25. The pad edge is then lifted into the opening 
16 and pulled out of the container 20 through the opening 16. The pad 20 
is replaced by squeezing or otherwise reducing the size of the pad so that 
it can be pushed back through the container opening 16, past the ends of 
the retaining members 25 and then arranged within the interior of the 
container. The pads are also replaceable. 
The cover 30 threads onto either the first end 13 or the second end 14 of 
the container 20. When the user does not want the scent to be released, 
the cover is threadably removed from the second end 14 of the container 
and threaded onto the container first end 13. The container will then be 
sealed and no scent can be released. See FIGS. 1, 3, and 6. The raised 
surface portions 37 of the cover side wall 33 allow the user to firmly 
grip the cover 30 and loosen it from the respective container end portion. 
Because the dispenser can be pinned or secured onto the use's clothing and 
subsequently removed therefrom, the dispenser eliminates applying the 
scent directly to the clothing and thus eliminates a significant amount of 
inconvenience which accompanies such applications. 
The reversible cover 30 which threads onto either end 13, 14 of the 
container 12 assures that the cover 30 will not be misplaced whether the 
dispenser 10 is being used or not. 
The scent holding means 20 is removable, reusable and easily cleaned for 
future uses or for use with a different scent. 
Whether in use or not, the space created by the retaining members 25 
between the container's first end 13 and the scent holding means 20 allows 
a quick and complete saturation of the material as well as providing room 
for the scent to "build up" for dispensing through the opening 16. The 
build-up continues in the space even during the time the scent is being 
released through the exposed opening 16. 
With the double sealing aspect, the dispenser when not in use can be safely 
carried on the user's person or in a vehicle without worry that the scent 
will be released and offend others or create an unpleasant breathing 
environment. 
Numerous characteristics and advantages of the invention have been set 
forth in the foregoing description, together with the details of the 
structure and function of the invention. The novel features thereof have 
also been pointed out in the appended claims. The disclosure, however, is 
illustrative only and changes may be made in detail especially in matters 
of shape, size and arrangement of some of the parts, within the principle 
of the invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general 
meaning of the terms expressed in the following claims.