Patent Publication Number: US-2007109814-A1

Title: Fluorescent light air freshener

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to room air fresheners and especially to room air fresheners that are placed in and attached to a coiled fluorescent tube of a fluorescent light.  
      In the past, there have been a wide variety of room air fresheners and most of these typically use some type of heater for heating an evaporative air freshener composition or utilize some existing air flow, such as produced by a small fan or the like. One source for obtaining heat for a room air freshener can be from an incandescent lightbulb which operates by the passage of an electric current through a filament to produce a white hot filament producing the light for the lightbulb. Fluorescent bulbs, on the other hand, typically do not produce any significant amount of heat in the tube itself. A fluorescent lamp is a gas discharge tube in which the inner surface of the wall of the tube is coated with a light emitting or fluorescent substance. The tube is filled with a low pressure gas. Electrodes are placed at each end of the fluorescent tube. The cathode electrode is heated and ejects electrons therefrom through the tube towards the anode electrode at the other end of the tube. The collision of the electrons with atoms of the gas produce radiation, such as ultraviolet rays, which in turn strike the fluorescent coating on the walls of the tube to produce a visible light. Most of the heat generated by a fluorescent lamp is produced in the ballast by the heating of the cathode for producing the electrons in the tube. The amount of heat produced is generally substantially less than that of an incandescent bulb for the same amount of generated visible light. It is therefore not been considered a useful heating element.  
      One example of a room air freshener using air currents passing over the air freshener composition can be seen in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,219 dated Jun. 5, 2001 for an Air Circulator Room Deodorizer. In this patent, an air circulator room deodorizer has a permeable container that is positioned with an air circulator attachment in the air flow from a room circulator, such as a room fan or vent, and has a deodorant pack that releases a fragrance selectively into the air flow. A permeable container is attached to the chain of a ceiling fan or the like so that the air flow from the ceiling fan passing over the permeable container evaporates the air freshener composition.  
      In the present application, a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser is provided for a coiled fluorescent tube of the type that is typically made with a ballast in a base and which is threadedly attached to a typical incandescent lamp having a threaded socket for attaching an incandescent light bulb. The placement of the air freshener dispenser directly inside the coiled fluorescent lamp advantageously places the permeable container air freshener directly over the ballast and directly over the electrodes for the fluorescent tube. Thus, the air freshener dispenser is operative whenever the fluorescent lamp is switched on and is advantageously concealed from view. This avoids the unsightly presence of an air freshener being plugged into an electrical outlet and which might contain a small heater to heat an evaporative composition.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A fluorescent light air freshener dispenser has a fluorescent lamp having a coiled or looped fluorescent tube attached to an electronic ballast. A permeable container is sized to fit in the fluorescent tube and has a reservoir for holding an evaporative scent composition therein. A container supporting clip is attached to the permeable container and supports the permeable container in the center of the coiled or looped fluorescent tube so that a fluorescent lamp dispenses the evaporative air freshener when the fluorescent lamp is activated. The evaporative permeable container can have a wick extending from the reservoir for dispensing a liquid scent composition while the fluorescent light electronic ballast has a threaded base having an electrical contact on the end thereof for threadedly attaching to a lamp stand. The container support clip can be removably attached to the permeable container with a removable lid covering the reservoir. The removable lid can have a plurality of openings therein for releasing the evaporative scent from the permeable container. The container supporting clip can have an opening in the center thereof for attaching the lid through and can have a plurality of clips for removably attaching the supporting clip to a coiled or plurality of looped fluorescent tubes. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a side elevation of a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser attached to a lamp;  
       FIG. 2  is a side elevation of a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser mounted in a coiled fluorescent tube;  
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the fluorescent light air freshener dispenser of  FIG. 2 ; and  
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a second embodiment of a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to the drawings,  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser  10  is illustrated attached to a coiled fluorescent tube  11  extending from an electronic ballast base  12 . The ballast  12  can be seen as having a threaded base  13  with a center contact  14  similar to that found on incandescent light bulbs. The fluorescent light is designed for attachment to a lamp  15  having an incandescent lamp socket  16  with internal threads to which the threaded base  13  of the fluorescent tube ballast  12  can be threaded. The lamp  15  also has a lamp shade support  17  attached to the lamp stand  15 . The coiled fluorescent tube  11  can be seen having two ends  18  and  20 , each of which will have an electrode mounted at the end thereof. A permeable container  10  can be shown as having a base  21  and a permeable lid  22 . The base  21  can be transparent and can have a reservoir  23  therein which may hold a liquid or solid or any other evaporative scent or air freshener.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the reservoir  23  has a wick  24  extending therefrom up into the lid  22 . The lid  22  has a plurality of open spaces  25  spaced around the lid to allow the evaporation of the air freshener composition into the surrounding air. A polymer container supporting clip  26  has a pair of fluorescent tube clips  27  for clipping onto the coiled fluorescent tube  11 . An open center  28  is used in attaching the tube clip to the permeable container  10 . The attachment can be by the removal of the lid  22  and then threading the lid  22  through the opening  28  to the container base  21 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
      In operation, the permeable container  10  reservoir  23  can be filled with an air freshener or scent composition and with the wick  24  extending therefrom. The container supporting clip  26  can then be placed on the top of the container base  21  and the permeable lid  24  threaded thereto to clamp the container supporting clip  26  to the permeable container  10 . The permeable container  10  can then be placed in the center of the coiled tube  11  and the clip  27  clipped onto the tube  11 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Thus, when the lamp  15  is activated or switched on, the fluorescent tube  11  is lighted. The ballast  12  will produce a small amount of heat directly beneath the container  21  while the tube  11  will produce a small amount of radiation directly into the transparent container  10 . This will slightly heat the evaporative composition in the reservoir of the container  10  which may or may not have the wick  24  therein. The composition can evaporate through the openings  25  of the lid  22 . Other types of permeable containers can also be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, the permeable container  10  can be of a solid material that is impregnated with the air freshener or scent composition for evaporation therefrom.  
      Turning now to  FIG. 4 , an alternate embodiment of the fluorescent light air freshener dispenser is illustrated having an air freshener dispenser  10  which may be a permeable container having the base  21  and a permeable lid  22 . The base  21  can be transparent and can have a reservoir  23  therein which may hold a liquid or solid or other evaporative scent or air freshener. The lid may also have a plurality of open spaces  25  therein and may contain a wick  24  as desired. A container  10  is shaped to fit within a plurality of looped or generally U-shaped fluorescent tubes  30  which are attached to a fluorescent tube electronic ballast  12  having a threaded base  13  and a center electric contact  14 . This type of fluorescent lamp may come with a translucent cover  31  which, in the present embodiment may have a plurality of apertures  32  in the side thereof and may have an open top  33  to allow the escape of the air scent. The fluorescent lamp of this embodiment also comes without any type of cover, such as  31 , in which case a container  10  is inserted between the looped fluorescent tubes  30 . The container  10  may be held in place with a clip  34  which can be shaped with a flange to rest on top of the looped fluorescent tubes  30  or to clip thereonto as desired.  
      It should be clear at this time that a fluorescent light air freshener dispenser has been provided which advantageously can be attached to a coiled fluorescent tube of a fluorescent light of the type for attaching to a standard incandescent lamp fixture. However, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.