Abstract:
Disclosed is an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle wherein the structures of the cartridge and a carrier of an aroma are so optimized that the capacity of the carrier for carrying the aroma may become excellent together with stable and continuous performance of diffusing the aroma. An aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle comprises: a cartridge body having one side formed with a pair of air holes for receiving and discharging air, and an internal space for circulating the received air; and at least two carriers put in the cartridge body with different duration of keeping an aroma. Thus, the capacity of the carriers for carrying an aroma is excellent together with stable and continuous performance of diffusing the aroma in a limited space, so that the air in the vehicle may be kept agreeable for a long time.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle which is disposed on an air conditioning apparatus for the vehicle to mix diffused aroma components with air-conditioning air and to discharge the mixture to the inside of the vehicle. 
         [0003]    2. Background Art 
         [0004]    An air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle is a device to cool or heat the inside of the vehicle by cooling or heating air while introducing outside air of the vehicle into the inside of the vehicle or circulating inside air of the vehicle. The air conditioning apparatus includes: an evaporator which blows air into an air-conditioning case by a blower unit and serves to cool the inside of the air-conditioning case; and a heater core serving a heating action, and selectively blows the air cooled by the evaporator or heated by the heater core to each part of the inside of the vehicle using a mode-switching door. 
         [0005]    Recently, when the air conditioning apparatus is operated while a vehicle is running, various harmful substances, such as dust or smoke gas, are introduced into the inside of the vehicle. Moreover, when the air conditioning apparatus is operated in the humid weather, bacterial foreign substances such as molds living on an air-conditioning duct are introduced into the inside of the vehicle as they are. Accordingly, an aroma generator for purifying air inside the vehicle has been used. 
         [0006]    Japanese patent Laid open publication No. 2003-237364 discloses an aroma-diffusing device mounted on an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle as a prior art. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the aroma-diffusing device  10  according to the prior art is attached to a corner  14  of a glove box  12  by a support plate  20 . The aroma-diffusing device  10  includes a main body  68 , a cartridge  78 , a support plate  20 , an actuator  24 , and so on. 
         [0007]    The support plate  20  has a round sheet which is embedded therein and has an opening part through which air flows in and out, and includes an inflow pipe  38  and an outflow pipe  40  which are communicated with the opening part. Moreover, the aroma-diffusing device further includes a connection pipe which is elongated between the inflow pipe  38  and the air conditioning apparatus to receive air from the air conditioning apparatus. 
         [0008]    However, the aroma-diffusing device according to the prior art has several disadvantages. In that it is decreased in aromatic intensity and cannot maintain continuous and stable aroma diffusion performance as time goes by because the aroma-diffusing device is continuously exposed to the air flowing path inside the air conditioning apparatus. Therefore, it requires frequent replacement because the lifespan of the cartridge is short. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle, which optimizes a structure of a cartridge and a configuration of the carrier, thereby providing excellent aroma containing amount of a carrier and stable and continuous aroma-diffusing performance. 
         [0010]    To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle including: a cartridge body which has a pair of vent holes at one side to make air flow in and out and a space part which is a passage formed therein to allow the inflow air to flow; and at least two carriers which are disposed inside the cartridge body and have different aroma maintaining terms from each other. 
         [0011]    In the present invention, the carriers include: first carriers having a honeycomb structure of a gel type; a second carrier made of porous resin which contains liquid aroma; and third carriers having a hollow form which contains gel. 
         [0012]    Moreover, the second carrier contains aroma for a relatively short term, the first carriers contain aroma for a relatively long term, and the third carriers contain aroma for a relatively medium term. 
         [0013]    In the above, the first carriers are disposed inside the cartridge body, the second carrier is put on the upper portion of the first carriers, and the third carriers are smaller than the first carriers and charge an upper space of the second carrier. 
         [0014]    In the above, a pair of vent holes are arranged at the upper portion of the cartridge body side by side, and the passage formed by the inner space of the cartridge body has at least one bent section formed till the inflow air is discharged out. 
         [0015]    In the above, the first carriers are in a pair and are spaced apart from each other at the lower portion of the vent holes, and a space formed between the first carriers is charged with the third carriers. 
         [0016]    In the above, the second carrier is in a plate form and completely covers the upper portions of the first carriers. 
         [0017]    In the above, the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention further includes diffusing bodies of a mesh structure which are formed to cover the vent holes and serve to introduce uniform diffusion of the air which flows in and out. 
         [0018]    In the above, each of the first carriers and each of the third carriers respectively have coating layers formed on at least one side thereof. 
         [0019]    In the above, the air introduced via one vent hole flows to the third carriers, the second carrier and the first carriers in order, and then, is discharged out through the first carriers, the second carrier and the third carriers via the other vent hole in order. 
         [0020]    In the above, the vent holes are respectively formed on different sides of the cartridge body, and the air introduced through one vent hole flows to the third carriers, the second carrier and the first carriers in order, and then, is discharged out through the first carriers, the second carrier and the third carriers via the other vent hole in order. 
         [0021]    The aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention has excellent aroma containing amount of the carrier and provides stable and continuous aroma-diffusing performance within a limited space, thereby maintaining pleasant air inside the vehicle for a long time. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an aroma-diffusing device for a vehicle according to a prior art; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view showing the inside of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a first carrier and a third carrier of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view showing the inside of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to a modification of  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is a view showing increment in aromatic intensity of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention in comparison with the aroma-diffusing device according to the prior art. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0030]    Hereinafter, referring to the attached drawings, a technical configuration of an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail as follows. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the aroma-diffusing cartridge,  FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view showing the inside of the aroma-diffusing cartridge, and  FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a first carrier and a third carrier of the aroma-diffusing cartridge. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 5 , the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cartridge body  110 , first carriers  150 , a second carrier  140 , third carriers  130  and diffusing bodies  120 . 
         [0033]    The cartridge body  110  includes a pair of vent holes  111  and  112  formed at one side to make air flow in and out and a space which is a passage formed therein to allow the inflow air to flow. In more detail, the vent holes  111  and  112  are arranged at the upper portion of the cartridge body  110  side by side, and the passage formed by the inner space of the cartridge body  110  has at least one bent section formed till the inflow air is discharged out. In this instance, the cartridge body  110  is joined with a lower body  160  to form an assembly. 
         [0034]    The cartridge body  110  is formed in a shape of an approximately rectangular parallelepiped, and the vent holes  111  and  112  are formed side by side. A stepped portion which is a bent section is formed between the vent holes  111  and  112 . That is, the vent holes  111  and  112  which respectively form an air inlet and an air outlet of the cartridge body  110  are respectively arranged at one side and the other side of the cartridge body  110 . The air passage connects the vent holes  111  and  112  with each other is formed to have at least one bent section. 
         [0035]    Therefore, the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention forms the structure that flowing air within a limited space stays in the cartridge body  110  as long as possible so as to increase aroma-diffusing effect. In this instance, the cartridge body  110  is not limited to the shape of the rectangular parallelepiped but may have another shape. 
         [0036]    A plurality of carriers which contain and emit aroma according to the air flow passage are arranged and mounted inside the cartridge body  110 . The carriers are formed to have different aroma containing structures so that they have different aroma containing and emitting terms from one another. 
         [0037]    The first carriers  150  which are disposed inside the cartridge body  110  are formed in a shape of an approximately rectangular parallelepiped and are located at the lowest portion of the cartridge body  110 . The first carrier  150  is in a honeycomb structure which contains aroma-concentrated gel. The first carrier  150  contains aroma for a relatively long term. The honeycomb structure and the aroma-concentrated gel may help the first carrier  150  hold aroma for a long term. 
         [0038]    The first carriers  150  are in a pair and are spaced apart from each other. Finally, the first carriers  150  are respectively located at the lower portions of the vent holes  111  and  112 . Therefore, the air flowing into one vent hole  111  is discharged out through the other vent hole  112  while sufficiently passing the first carriers  150 . In this instance, a coating layer  151  may be formed on at least one side of the first carrier  150 . The coating layer  151  makes the aromatic components contained in the first carrier  150  be maintained longer. 
         [0039]    The second carrier  140  is put on the upper portion of the first carriers  150  and is made of porous resin, such as porous ceramics and polymer to contain aroma for a relatively short term. Through the porous structure and the structure for containing liquid aroma, the second carrier  140  can contain aroma for a short term. 
         [0040]    Furthermore, the second carrier  140  is formed in a plate type to completely cover the upper portions of the first carriers  150 . Therefore, the air introduced into one of the vent holes  111  and  112  passes the second carrier  140  without fail, and then, goes by way of the first carriers  150 . As described above, because the flowing air passes all of the second carrier  140  which has the short-term aroma containing property and the first carriers  150  which have the long-term aroma containing property. The aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention can maintain stable and continuous aroma emission complexly. 
         [0041]    The third carriers  130  are in the form of pellets and have a hollow form which contains aroma-concentrated gel. The third carriers  130  is smaller than the first carriers  150 , and charge an upper space of the second carrier  140  in the plural. The third carriers  130  contain aroma for a relatively medium term. That is, the third carriers  130  contain concentrated gel-type aroma which is maintained longer than liquid type aroma. The third carriers  130  are smaller in form and size than the first carriers  150  of a honeycomb form and have the aroma containing term shorter than the first carriers  150 . 
         [0042]    Finally, the air introduced into one of the vent holes  111  and  112  goes by way of the first carriers  150  after passing through the third carriers  130  and the second carrier  140  without fail. As described above, while the flowing air passes through all of the third carriers  130  which have the aroma containing property of the medium term, the second carrier  140  which has the aroma containing property of the short term, and the first carriers  150  which have the aroma containing property of the long term, the aroma-diffusing cartridge according to the present invention can maintain stable and continuous aroma emission complexly. 
         [0043]    Moreover, preferably, the space formed between the first carriers  150  is charged with additional third carriers  130 . Finally, the third carriers  130  closely charge the space which is not charged with the first carriers  150  and the second carrier  140  so as to emit aroma more continuously and stably. Additionally, a coating layer may be formed on at least one side of the third carriers  130 . The coating layer  131  makes the aromatic components contained in the third carriers  130  last longer. 
         [0044]    In short, the carriers include: the first carriers  150  arranged on the air passage of the cartridge body  110 ; the third carriers  130  arranged to be adjacent to a pair of the vent holes  111  and  112  which form the air inlet and the air outlet; and the second carrier  140  arranged between the first carriers  150  and the third carriers  130 . 
         [0045]    The first carriers  150  are longer in the aroma containing and emitting term than the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130 , and are arranged at a position which does not directly faces the vent holes  111  and  112 . The second carrier  140  has an aroma containing structure that the aroma containing and emitting term is shorter than that of the first carriers  150  and the third carriers  130 , and is arranged between the first carriers  150  and the third carriers  130 . The third carriers  130  has an aroma containing structure that the aroma containing and emitting term is shorter than that of the first carriers  150  and longer than that of the second carrier  140 , and is arranged to be adjacent to the vent holes  111  and  112 . 
         [0046]    Moreover, the first carriers  150  are arranged on the air passage of the cartridge body  110  in the plural, and the third carriers  130  are additionally arranged between the first carriers  150  arranged on the air passage. Furthermore, the first carriers  150 , the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130  are arranged in such a way that the air introduced into the cartridge body  110  through the vent hole  111  passes the first carriers  150 , the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130  in turn at least twice. 
         [0047]    Finally, the cartridge body  110  has at least two carriers which are disposed inside the cartridge body  110  and have different aroma containing terms from each other, in order to provide stable and continuous aroma-diffusing performance within the limited space. 
         [0048]    The diffusing bodies  120  have a mesh structure formed to cover the vent holes  111  and  112  and serve to introduce uniform diffusion of the air which flows in and out. Preferably, the diffusing body  120  is arranged above the upper portions of the third carriers  130  inside the space of the cartridge body  110 . 
         [0049]    The air introduced through one vent hole  111  flows to the third carriers  130 , the second carrier  140  and the first carriers  150  in order after passing through the diffusing body  120 , and then, passes through the third carriers  130  after moving in the horizontal direction. After that, the air flows through the first carriers  150 , the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130  in order, passes the diffusing body  120 , and then, is discharged out via the other vent hole  112 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view showing the inside of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to a modification of  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the vent holes  111  and  112  are formed on different sides of the cartridge body  110 . That is, the vent holes  111  and  112  are respectively formed on the upper side and the lower side of the cartridge body  110  or on the upper side and the flank or on the lower side and the flank. In the variant of the present invention, the vent hole  111  for introducing the air is formed on the upper side of the cartridge body  110 , and the vent hole  112  for discharging the air is formed on the lower side of the cartridge body  110 . 
         [0051]    Moreover, inside the cartridge body  110 , the first carriers  150 , the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130  are stacked up at the vent hole  111 , through which the air is introduced in the horizontal direction, in order, and the third carriers  130 , the second carrier  140  and the first carriers  150  are stacked up at the other vent hole  112 , through which the air is discharged out in the horizontal direction, in order. The diffusing body  120  is mounted at each of the vent holes  111  and  112 . 
         [0052]    Finally, the air introduced into one vent hole  111  flows to the third carriers  130 , the second carrier  140  and the first carriers  150  in order after passing through the diffusing body  120 , flows to the first carriers  150 , the second carrier  140  and the third carriers  130  in order after passing the third carriers  130 , and then, is discharged out through the other vent hole  112  after passing through the diffusing body  120 . 
         [0053]      FIG. 7  is a view showing increment in aromatic intensity of the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the present invention in comparison with the aroma-diffusing device according to the prior art. 
         [0054]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , it was revealed that the aroma-diffusing cartridge for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention emits aroma longer than the conventional aroma-diffusing device. 
         [0055]    As described above, while the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the example embodiments illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the above embodiments of the present invention are all exemplified and various changes and equivalences may be made therein without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, it would be understood that the technical and protective scope of the present invention shall be defined by the technical idea as defined by the following claims.