Patent Publication Number: US-2005116059-A1

Title: Supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil, and more particularly to a supersonic atomizer that could be conveniently positioned in any type of water-soluble essential oil contained in any container to generate oscillations at a frequency higher than 1500 kHZ, and thereby atomizes the essential oil to produce mists thereof. The supersonic atomizer has low weight and is suitable for carrying along with a user.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Taiwanese New Utility Model Patent Publication No. 547087 discloses an atomizer for supersonic therapeutic agents, aromatics or essential oils. The atomizer includes a housing and a container mounted in the housing. The container is internally fitted with a plastic film bag, and has a supersonic oscillator externally mounted at a bottom surface thereof. An inner cap with vents is closed to a top of the container.  
      Taiwanese New Utility Model Patent Publication No. 535595 discloses a supersonic aromatizer, which mainly includes a base, a liquid container, a cap, a holder, an oscillating chip, a seat, an air extracting motor, and an externally connected circuit control box. In this patent, liquid aromatic agent contained in the liquid container is subjected to high-frequency vibration generated by the oscillating chip located at a bottom of the container and produces fragrant fine mists that are sprayed via a nozzle upward projected from the cap to diffuse in air.  
      Generally speaking, to avoid easy damage of the oscillator due to direct contact of it with the essential oil, the above-mentioned conventional supersonic atomizing devices usually have an oscillator that is externally mounted at the bottom of the liquid containers for the latter to generate high-frequency vibration and thereby atomize the liquid contained therein. However, with the supersonic oscillator permanently fixed to the bottom outside the container, only a very limited atomizing effect is produced. Moreover, since the supersonic oscillator could not be freely moved relative to the liquid container, it has only one function without the possibility of being used in different manners. Therefore, the conventional supersonic atomizing devices with such fixed supersonic oscillator have limited applications.  
      It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved supersonic atomizer to overcome the drawbacks existed in the above-mentioned conventional supersonic atomizing devices.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple and convenient supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil that is adapted to direct contact with and act on the water-soluble essential oil so as to provide an upgraded atomizing effect.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil that could be used in different containers depending on different environments, and thereby creates different atmosphere and environmental visual effects.  
      To achieve the above and other objects, the supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil according to the present invention includes a main body having electronic elements mounted therein. The electronic elements are powered via an externally connected power cord to actuate an oscillating chip mounted in a recess provided on a top surface of the main body to directly contact with water-soluble essential oil contained in a container, in which the atomizer is positioned. The oscillating chip in direct contact with the essential oil and powered via the electronic elements generates ultra-high-frequency supersonic oscillations at a frequency higher than 1500 kHz, and thereby atomizes the water-soluble essential oil to produce mists less than 3 μm.  
      In the supersonic atomizer of the present invention, there is also included a digitally controlled sequential color-changing unit mounted on the top surface of the main body and including a plurality of light-emitting elements. The digitally controlled sequential color-changing unit is powered via the electronic elements to produce varying color light, allowing the supersonic atomizer to create an upgraded environmental visual effect.  
      The supersonic atomizer of the present invention further includes a level-sensing unit. When a level of the water-soluble essential oil in the container is lower than an upper conductive head of the level-sensing unit on the supersonic atomizer positioned in the essential oil, the supersonic oscillating chip is interrupted and the whole supersonic atomizer is protected against damage due to insufficient essential oil in the container. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective cutaway view showing an example of use of the present invention in a container to atomize essential oil contained therein; and  
       FIG. 3  is a plan cutaway view showing another example of use of the present invention in a container to atomize essential oil contained therein. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Please refer to  FIG. 1  that is an exploded perspective view of a supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil according to the present invention. As shown, the supersonic atomizer includes a main body  10 , in which electronic elements  13  are mounted and powered via an externally connected power cord  11 ; and a supersonic oscillating chip  20  mounted in a recess  12  provided at a top surface of the main body  10 , such that an upper surface of the chip  20  is exposed from the main body  10  and a lower surface of the chip  20  is electrically connected to the electronic elements  13 . With ultra-high-frequency oscillating signals provided by the electronic elements  13 , the supersonic oscillating chip  20  is adapted to generate oscillations at a frequency higher than 1500 kHz.  
      A digitally controlled sequential color-changing unit  30  is mounted on the top surface of the main body  10 , and includes one or a plurality of light-emitting elements  31 , such as single-color or multi-color light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to create varying color light as an effect of the internal electronic elements  13 .  
      A level-sensing unit  40  is externally provided on the top surface of the main body  10  to electrically detect a level of essential oil outside the main body  10 , such that the oscillating chip  20  is interrupted when the level of essential oil is lower than a preset height.  
      In the present invention, the oscillating chip  20  is set to oscillate at a frequency higher than 1500 kHz, so that water or any type of water-soluble liquid in contact with the oscillating chip  20  is atomized to produce mist of less than 30 μm.  
      The digitally controlled sequential color-changing unit  30  is controlled by the electronic elements  13  in the main body  10 , such that the light-emitting element  31  emits different color light in a preset sequence. The varying color light produced by the digitally controlled sequential color-changing unit  30  and the mists of the water-soluble liquid produced by the oscillating chip  20  together create different environmental visual effects.  
      As can be seen from  FIG. 1 , the level-sensing unit  40  includes an upper part forming a conductive head  41 , and a lower part forming a neck portion  42  downward extended from the conductive head  41 . The neck portion  42  is covered with an insulating material to isolate from the water-soluble liquid and is therefore non-conducting. On the other hand, the upper conductive head  41  is electrically conductive in the water-soluble liquid to produce electric currents. The conductive head  41  may be differently shaped, such as, for example, a spherical or a cubical body. With the level-sensing unit  40 , the supersonic atomizer of the present invention is electrically interrupted and accordingly, well protected from damage when the level of the water-soluble liquid in a container is lower than the upper conductive head  41  of the level-sensing unit  40  of the supersonic atomizer.  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3  for the operation of the supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil according to the present invention. First, the main body  10  of the supersonic atomizer is positioned in a container  50  having an amount of water-soluble essential oil  51  contained therein. It is noted a level of the water-soluble essential oil  51  poured into the container  50  must be higher than the supersonic oscillating chip  20  by at least five to eight centimeters. Then, power is supplied to the supersonic atomizer. At this point, the essential oil  51  in direct contact with the oscillating chip  20  is powerfully oscillated to produce freshening and fragrant flows of mists  52 . In this manner, it is possible to effectively control the consumption of the essential oil  51  and freely adjust a concentration of the produced mists  52 . The use and design of the supersonic atomizer of the present invention is not restricted by the container  50 , but may be changed depending on different environmental requirements. For example, a cap  60  may be added to a top of the container  50 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , to function like an ornament while properly shielding the produced flows of mists  52 .  
      With the above arrangements, the supersonic atomizer for water-soluble essential oil according to the present invention has largely reduced volume and weight and is more convenient for use. Moreover, since the supersonic atomizer of the present invention directly oscillates the essential oil, it provides an enhanced atomizing effect to overcome the drawbacks existed in the conventional atomizing devices.  
      The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.