Patent Abstract:
Lampholders formed from materials comprising scented compounds that are more volatile when warm than when at ambient temperature to generate a desired scent during use, along with lighted displays incorporating such lampholders and methods for making such lampholders, are shown and described.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to electric lighting elements, light strings and lighted displays, and to methods of manufacturing the same. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Smell sometimes can play as large a role as sight and sound typically do in creating and remembering an experience. For example, the smell of food cooking, the ocean, popcorn, or a pine tree often brings back memories of certain events or locations as fast or faster than the associated sights and sounds. 
   As a consequence, air fresheners and other scented articles, both natural and synthetic, have been developed to help create such an environment or bring back such a memory when the real smell is not available. Typically these devices are designed to be attractive or inconspicuous; for example, non-electric air fresheners may be designed to be adhered to the back or bottom of an article of furniture and electric air fresheners may be flat, small and light colored to blend in with the wall when plugged in. 
   Most air fresheners have a housing with a cavity in it that retains a scented fluid or gel. The fluid typically is held in a reservoir or absorbed in a porous body, while the gel may have enough structural integrity to be attached or coupled to the housing. When the scented fluid or gel evaporates, the fluid is refilled or the gel replaced to cause the air freshener to function again. 
   The scented gel or fluid typically is volatile—which is desired for an air freshener in order to generate odor—but, as a result, the scented fluid or gel often dissipates faster than desired. Evaporating too quickly results in too strong a scent being generated in the surrounding area and undesirably frequent replacement or refilling or replacement of the scented fluid or gel. Adjustable openings often are used to prevent too much odor from escaping the air freshener housing; however, this may not solve the problem of frequent refill or replacement. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed toward devices and systems using electric lighting elements, light strings and lighted displays, and other lighted articles used not only to create a desired visual effect, but also to generate a desired scent during use. In particular, the invention is directed toward scented lampholders and to light strings and lighted displays incorporating scented lampholders. For the purpose of this disclosure, the term “lampholder” can be interpreted to include thy lamp base, the socket, and/or the socket base, depending on the construction of the particular lampholder. 
   In one disclosed embodiment, the invention is directed toward a lampholder having a body configured to be physically coupled to a lighting element and at least one electrical conductor such that the lighting element is operatively electrically coupled to the at least one conductor. At least part of the body is made from a material comprising a compound having a desired scent. The scented compound has an elevated rate of vaporization from the material when the lampholder is in a heated state due to being engaged with an illuminated lighting element. The elevated rate of vaporization is significantly greater than a reduced rate of vaporization of the scented compound from the material occurring when the lampholder is not in the heated state. 
   In another disclosed embodiment, the material comprises a compound having a desired scent and having a first rate of vaporization from the material when the lampholder is in a heated state due to being engaged with an illuminated lighting element. The first rate of vaporization is great enough that the desired scent can be noticed in the vicinity of the lampholder when the lampholder is operating. The scented compound has a second rate of vaporization from the material when the lampholder is not in the heated state. The second rate of vaporization is low enough that the desired scent is at least substantially unnoticeable in the vicinity of the lampholder when the lampholder is not operating. 
   The present invention is also directed toward methods of making such devices and systems. In one disclosed embodiment, a method for making a lampholder for a lighting display that generates a desired scent during operation includes the steps of combining a polymeric material and a scented compound to form a scented polymeric material having a desired scent; and forming the scented polymeric material into at least one lampholder part. 
   In another disclosed embodiment, a method for making a lampholder for a lighting display that generates a desired scent during operation includes the steps of melting a polymeric material to form a liquid polymeric material; adding a scented compound to the liquid polymeric material to form a liquid scented polymeric material having a desired scent; forming the liquid scented polymeric material into the shape of at least one lampholder part; and cooling liquid scented polymeric material until the lampholder part is solid. 
   The present invention is also directed toward lighting systems incorporating such lampholders. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
     In order to assist understanding of the present invention, embodiments will now be described, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a lampholder, a lighting element and a portion of a conductor, according to one illustrated embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the lampholder, lighting element and portion of conductor of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a light string according to an illustrated embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are isometric views of a pair of light displays according to an illustrated embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating a method for making a lampholder according to one disclosed embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating a method for making a lampholder according to one disclosed embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a graph plotting the rate at which scented compound vaporizes from the plastic of the lampholder, as a function of the temperature of the plastic. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed toward devices and systems for using electric lights, light strings and lighted displays, or other lighted articles, to generate a desired scent during use, and to methods of making such devices and systems. The following is a detailed description of a few illustrative embodiments. The drawings are provided to clarify the description, and may not be to scale. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a light  10  for a light string, lighted display or the like. Atypical light  10  may be made up of a lighting element  12  and a lampholder  14 , which are coupled to a conductor  16  carrying many lights along its length. 
   As better illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the lighting element  12  may be made up of a lamp  18  and a lamp base  20 ; and the lampholder  14  may be made up of a socket  22  and a socket base  24 . A pair of leads  26  on the lighting element  12  can be coupled to one or more wires in the conductor  16  via contacts in the lampholder  14  such that the bulb  18  illuminates when the conductor is energized. The inventor appreciates that some of these details can be modified without deviating from the spirit of the invention, and that an individual of ordinary skill in the art having reviewed this disclosure will appreciate modifications that could be made to the illustrated embodiment. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a light string  28  according to one particular embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated light string  28  extends between a pair of electrical connectors  30 , and may contain  150  lighting elements  10 ,  300  lighting elements, or any other number desired by the manufacturer. Likewise, the lighting elements  10  can be incandescent bulbs, clear or colored bulbs, flashing bulbs, or any other suitable bulb or lighting element. In addition, the light string  28  can be in the form of a single string, as illustrated; however, the inventor appreciates that swag lights, net lights and other configurations would also work with the present invention. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate two particular lighted displays  32  according to disclosed embodiments of the present invention. The lighted display  32  can have a solid frame or planar substrate giving it a desired shape, such as the illustrated snowman and tree. One or more light strings  28  can be routed about and coupled to the frame or extended through the substrate, or can otherwise be coupled to the lighted display  32 . The lighted display  32  can be left uncovered, or can be covered with a layer of material to create a desired affect when the lighted display is illuminated. 
   In each of the above-described embodiments, the device or system incorporates a lampholder made from a material that generates a significant amount of a desired scent when the lighting element, light string or lighted display is operating, but does not generate a significant amount of the desired scent when the same is not operating. As reflected in  FIG. 7 , the concentration of the scented compound is selected such that the rate the scent is generated “r o ” at operating temperature “t o ” is at or above the concentration sufficient for individuals in the vicinity of the lights to readily appreciate the scent “i.e., &gt;A”, while the rate the scent is generated “r a ” at ambient temperature “t a ” during non-use is below the concentration necessary for individuals in the vicinity of the lights to readily appreciate the scent “i.e., &lt;A”. 
   The particular scent selected for a particular device or system can complement the design of the lighted display, such as by using a pine scent for the lights on a tree or a peppermint scent for the lights on a candy cane, or can merely be an attractive scent, such as the scent of mulled spices on a Christmas-related display or the scent of pumpkin pie on a Thanksgiving-related display. An individual of ordinary skill in the art having reviewed this disclosure will appreciate the variations that could be made to these examples without deviating from the spirit of the invention. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a method for making an article having a desired scent. The illustrated method begins with a polymeric material  34  and a scented compound  36 . The method then involves the step of combining  38  the polymeric material  34  and the scented compound  36 . The compounds may be combined in solid form (e.g. pellet, powder, etc.) or in liquid form, or a combination thereof (e.g. adding a powder to a liquid). The ratio of scented compound  36  to polymeric material  34  is selected to provide a desired amount of scent based on the use envisioned for the finished product (e.g. products for outdoor use may have more scented compound than equivalent products for indoor use). 
   Finally, the illustrated method involves forming  40  the scented polymeric material into a desired part. The part may be the lamp base  20 , the socket  22  and/or the socket base  24 . Again, an individual of ordinary skill in the art having reviewed this disclosure will appreciate how many parts to form from the scented polymeric material to obtain the desired amount of scent for a particular purpose, as more scented parts will obviously result in a stronger scent. 
   EXAMPLE 1 
   The inventor has practiced the present invention in several different ways, and provides herein a representative example of a method used to manufacture a scented device according to the present invention. In this particular example, the inventor used at least the following compounds: a resin, a fragrance diluter, a dispersing agent, a fragrance, a fragrance main agent, and an anti-oxidant. The procedure included the steps of: adding the fragrance to the fragrance diluter and stirring thoroughly; mixing in the dispersing agent, the anti-oxidant and the resin; and melting polypropylene pellets from an injection machine at a temperature between about 80˜120 Celsius. The flame retardant polypropylene and the fragrance main agent mix ratio is between about 8:1˜12:1 (ratio by weight). The pellets are then used to produce product by injection, as is generally understood in the art. An individual of ordinary skill in the art having reviewed this disclosure will appreciate that these compounds, ratios, temperatures and/or steps can be changed or supplemented without deviating from the spirit of the invention. 
   EXAMPLE 2 
   The inventor has practiced the present invention in several different ways, and provides herein another representative example of a method used to manufacture a scented device according to the present invention. In this particular example, the inventor mixed the flame retardant polypropylene with 1˜2% fragrance, and then produced the product by injection, as generally understood in the art. As these two non-limiting examples reflect, there are many specific methods that could be used to carry out the present invention, and the inventor intends that this patent cover all such methods, not merely the examples provided. As such, the inventor submits the following claims to reflect the scope of the invention, which should not be limited by the examples provided. 
     FIG. 6  illustrates a method for making scented lampholder parts according to another disclosed embodiment of the present invention. In this particular embodiment, the method begins by taking a polymeric material  42  and melting  44  the polymeric material. A scented compound  46  is added  48  to the melted polymeric material  42 . The method continues with the step of forming  50  the liquid scented polymeric material into one or more of the parts of the lampholder. Finally, the illustrated method incorporates the step of cooling  52  the scented polymeric material to fix it in the shape of the desired lampholder part. An individual of ordinary skill in the art having reviewed this disclosure will appreciate the details involved in carrying out this method, and will appreciate the additions and modifications that could be made to the method without deviating from the spirit of the invention. 
   From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0