Abstract:
A mobile phone including a perfume spraying apparatus, the perfume spraying apparatus including a perfume storage unit capable of storing at least one perfume type and a perfume spraying unit, wherein the perfume spraying unit includes a perfume chamber coupled to the perfume storage unit by a perfume flow path, a pressure unit to pressurize the perfume chamber, and a nozzle to spray perfume outside the mobile phone. The mobile phone may include a control unit to instruct the perfume spraying apparatus to spray perfume when a button of the mobile phone is pushed and/or when the mobile phone is called and may change a type or amount of perfume sprayed according to an increase or decrease in a user&#39;s voice volume, according to a caller, according to a user customization and/or according to a noise change in a user&#39;s surroundings.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a mobile phone, and more particularly, to a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     A mobile phone is typically a small and lightweight phone, e.g., a cellular phone, which may be easily carried or stored in a bag or pocket. A mobile phone is a development of a car phone and communicates with a base station or another mobile phone wirelessly. Generally, the mobile phone is equipped with a variety of functions such as a total call time display, a management display, a missed call display, an answering reject display, a ring during a call, an auto redial feature, a caller ID display, a password feature to lock the phone, an automatic message sending feature, a search function for a phone number, etc.  
         [0005]     A mobile phone may incorporate a perfume spraying apparatus to satisfy a user&#39;s desires. However, if an amount of sprayed perfume cannot be minutely controlled using the perfume spraying apparatus and cannot equalize a size of a sprayed perfume particle, the perfume may stain the mobile phone or the user&#39;s clothes. Also, if the perfume spraying apparatus requires an opening/closing unit, its size may be too large and it may require a complicated mechanism for spraying perfume. Thus, it may be difficult to embed a perfume spraying apparatus in a small and lightweight mobile phone. Furthermore, if the perfume spraying apparatus requires multiple perfume spraying units in order to spray various types of perfume, the perfume spraying apparatus may be too large to be easily embedded in the mobile phone.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is therefore directed to a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus that substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0007]     It is therefore a feature of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus that minutely controls an amount of sprayed perfume.  
         [0008]     It is therefore another feature of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus that sprays perfume without using an opening/closing unit and has a simple mechanism for spraying perfume.  
         [0009]     It is therefore also a feature of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus including a small perfume spraying unit that can spray various types of perfume.  
         [0010]     At least one of the above and other features and advantages of the present invention may be realized by providing a mobile phone including a perfume spraying apparatus, the perfume spraying apparatus including a perfume storage unit capable of storing at least one perfume type and a perfume spraying unit, wherein the perfume spraying unit includes a perfume chamber coupled to the perfume storage unit by a perfume flow path, a pressure unit to pressurize the perfume chamber, and a nozzle to spray perfume outside the mobile phone.  
         [0011]     The pressure unit may include a heater to heat the perfume stored in the perfume chamber, a piezoelectric element unit to pressurize perfume stored in the perfume chamber and/or an ultrasonic exciting unit to excite perfume stored in the perfume chamber. The perfume storage unit may be disposed in an exchangeable cartridge and the perfume storage unit and the perfume spraying unit are disposed in the exchangeable cartridge. The perfume spraying unit may be formed from a silicon wafer. The perfume storage unit may be capable of storing a plurality of perfume types concurrently and the perfume spraying apparatus may include a plurality of perfume spraying units corresponding to the plurality of perfume types.  
         [0012]     The mobile phone may also include a driver unit to provide an electrical signal to the perfume spraying unit, wherein the electrical signal causes the perfume spraying unit to spray perfume. The driver unit may be electrically connected to the perfume spraying unit, the driver unit may be electrically connected to the pressure unit and the driver unit and the perfume spraying unit may be reversibly separable from each other.  
         [0013]     The mobile phone may also include a control unit to instruct the perfume spraying apparatus to spray perfume. The control unit may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit when a button of the mobile phone is pushed, may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit when the mobile phone is called, may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit to change a type or amount of perfume sprayed according to an increase or decrease in a user&#39;s voice volume, may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit to change a type of perfume according to a caller, may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit to change a type or amount of perfume sprayed according to a user customization and may transmit a control signal to the perfume spraying unit to change a type or amount of perfume sprayed according to a noise change in a user&#39;s surroundings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates a back view of the mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perfume spraying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perfume spraying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]     Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0075080, filed on Sep. 20, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled: “Cellular Phone Having Perfume Spraying Apparatus,” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
         [0020]     The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the figures, the dimensions of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity of illustration. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of a mobile phone having a perfume spraying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  illustrates a back view of the mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a mobile phone  1  may include a perfume spraying apparatus  10  and a battery pack  2  disposed in the backside of the mobile phone  1 . The perfume spraying apparatus  10  may be used to spray perfume outside the mobile phone  1  according to an input signal from a control unit. The perfume spraying apparatus  10  may be embedded in the mobile phone  1 , and may be covered by the battery pack  2 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perfume spraying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4  illustrates a perfume spraying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may include a cartridge  11 , a perfume storage unit  12  embedded in the cartridge  11 , a perfume passage  13  extended from a side of the perfume storage unit  12  and a perfume spraying unit  20  connected to the perfume passage  13 . The perfume spraying unit  20  may be connected to a driver unit  15  and a microcomputer (micom)  16  through an electrical contact  14 . The micom  16  may be connected to a voice analyzing unit  17 .  
         [0023]     A variety of parts of the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may be embedded in the cartridge  11 . The parts in the cartridge  11  may be easily replaced by exchanging the cartridge  11  only. The perfume storage unit  12  may be contained in the cartridge  11 . Thus, the cartridge  11  may be attached/detached in order to refill or exchange perfume stored in the perfume storage unit  12 . The perfume storage unit  12  and perfume spraying unit  20  may be contained in the cartridge  11 . Thus, it may be easy to repair or exchange the parts of the perfume spraying unit  20 . The perfume storage unit  12  may store perfume and may be connected to the perfume passage  13 . The perfume passage  13  may be used to supply the stored perfume.  
         [0024]     The perfume spraying unit  20  may spray perfume according to an input signal and may include a chamber  21  connected to the perfume passage  13 , a nozzle  22  to spray perfume stored in the chamber  21  and a pressure unit  23  for pressurizing the perfume stored in the chamber  21 . The perfume spraying unit  20  may be manufactured from a silicon wafer in a semiconductor manufacturing process including, e.g., a micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing process.  
         [0025]     The chamber  21  may be used to store perfume transferred from the perfume storage unit  12 . The nozzle  22  is a passage where the perfume stored in the chamber  21  is sprayed to the outside by a spraying pressure applied by the pressure unit  23 . The pressure unit  23  may include a heater, a piezoelectric unit and/or an ultrasonic wave exciting unit.  
         [0026]     When the pressure unit  23  includes a heater, the heater may be used to heat the perfume stored in the chamber  21 . The perfume heated by the heater forms bubbles and is sprayed outside through the nozzle  22  by an expansion pressure of the bubbles.  
         [0027]     When the pressure unit  23  includes a piezoelectric element unit, the piezoelectric element unit is used to pressurize the perfume stored in the chamber  21  by piezoelectricity. The piezoelectric element may be quartz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt, etc., and may include artificial crystals such as barium titanate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, tartaric acid ethylenediamine, etc. The piezoelectric phenomenon is used to convert an electrical energy into mechanical energy and pressure into an electrical signal. When an electrical signal is input to a piezoelectric element of the pressure unit  23 , the piezoelectric element converts the electrical signal into pressure applied to the perfume stored in the chamber  21 .  
         [0028]     When the pressure unit  23  includes the ultrasonic wave exciting unit, the ultrasonic exciting unit produces vibration, which results in pressure applied to the perfume stored in the chamber  21 . Ultrasonic typically refers to a sound wave having a frequency of more than 20 KHz, i.e., an inaudible frequency. Since the ultrasonic wave has a high frequency and short wavelength, it may produce a very strong vibration to vibrate a material. When an electrical signal is input to the ultrasonic exciting unit, the vibration is produced to transform the perfume stored in the chamber  21  into minute particles that are sprayed outside through the nozzle  22 .  
         [0029]     In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention may allow for an amount of sprayed perfume to be easily controlled. Accordingly, the mobile phone  1  need not have an opening/closing unit and may have a simple mechanism for spraying the perfume.  
         [0030]     The micom  16  may generate a control signal corresponding to the operation of the mobile phone  1 . The driver  15  generates an operational signal corresponding to the control signal. A microphone  18  is used to convert a user s voice signal into the electrical signal. The electrical signal converted by the microphone  18  is then transferred to and analyzed in the voice analyzing unit  17 .  
         [0031]     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may include a plurality of perfume storage units  12 , a plurality of perfume passages  13 , a plurality of electrical contacts  14  and a plurality of perfume spraying units  20 . Each of the plurality of the perfume storage units  12  may store a different type of perfume and each of the plurality of perfume spraying units  20  may be connected to the plurality of the perfume storage units  12  to spray a different type of perfume. Accordingly, it may be possible to combine and spray various types of perfume.  
         [0032]     Operation of the mobile phone  1  to spray perfume according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described. When the mobile phone  1  sprays perfume, the micom  16  generates a control signal. The control signal is transferred to the driver  15  and is converted into an operational signal in the driver  15 . The operational signal is transferred to the pressure unit  23  through the electrical contact  14 , the chamber  21  stores the perfume received from the perfume storage units  12  and the spraying pressure producing unit  23  generates a spraying pressure for the perfume. When the pressure unit  23  includes a heater, the heater heats the perfume stored in the chamber  21  in order to form a bubble in the perfume and produce pressure. When the pressure unit  23  includes a piezoelectric element unit, the piezoelectric element converts the electrical signal into pressure energy by piezoelectricity to pressurize the perfume. When the spraying pressure producing unit  23  includes an ultrasonic exciting unit, the ultrasonic exciting unit produces vibration to transform the perfume stored in the chamber  21  into minute particles in order to allow the particle to be sprayed outside through the nozzle  22 . When the pressure unit  23  applies pressure on the perfume stored in the chamber  21 , the perfume is sprayed outside the mobile phone  1  through the nozzle  22 .  
         [0033]     The mobile phone  1  having the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may precisely control the amount of sprayed perfume and may be miniaturized due to its simple mechanism. Therefore, the mobile phone  1  may have a wide range of applications. For example, the perfume spraying unit  20  may spray perfume according to a change in a user&#39;s voice during a call. In particular, when the user of the mobile phone  1  raises or lowers his/her voice, the voice analyzing unit  17  analyzes the change in the user&#39;s voice and transfers the analysis result to the micom  16 . The micom  16  receives the analysis result and sends a control signal in accordance with the change in the user&#39;s voice, so that the perfume spraying apparatus  10  can spray perfume through the driver  15 . The perfume spraying apparatus  10  may also spray perfume according to a noise change in the user&#39;s surroundings.  
         [0034]     As another example, the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may spray perfume according to a voice of a person who talks to the user of the mobile phone  1 . In particular, when the user calls the person, or the person calls the user, the micom  16  recognizes the person and displays information on the person on the screen of the mobile phone  1 . The micom  16  compares perfume information on persons stored in advance therein with the displayed information and sends a control signal according to the recognized person. Thus, the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may spray a different type of perfume through the driver  15  for each person who talks to the user of the mobile phone  1 .  
         [0035]     In yet another example, the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may spray perfume in accordance with information customized by an owner of the mobile phone  1 . In particular, the micom  16  sends a suitable control signal to the perfume apparatus  10 , so that the perfume spraying apparatus  10  can spray an amount of perfume of a certain type according to the owner&#39;s desire.  
         [0036]     The mobile phone  1  disclosed herein may spray perfume using the perfume spraying apparatus  10 , which may include a heater, piezoelectric element unit, or ultrasonic exciting unit, and may minutely control the amount of sprayed perfume and equalize the size of the sprayed perfume particle. The mobile phone  1  having the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may also spray perfume without an opening/closing unit and may have a simple mechanism for spraying perfume. Further, the mobile phone  1  having the perfume spraying apparatus  10  may have a small perfume spraying unit and may spray various types of perfume.  
         [0037]     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation. Accordingly, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.