Air fresheners have long been common household items used to enhance the environment of their surrounding area. Many air fresheners comprise a fragranced liquid or gelatinous material which evaporate over time at room temperature or when heat is applied to them. These liquid or gelatinous materials are known as “volatiles.”
Generally, a consumer purchases an air freshener, removes it from the packaging, and sets it in the desired location. The consumer can then enjoy the benefits of an odor enhanced environment. Once the air freshening volatiles have exhausted, though, the user must purchase another air freshener device for replacement. As such, the user is required to monitor the air freshener device and, upon identifying that the device has exhausted its volatiles, must purchase the replacement. Additionally, air fresheners are inconsistent in their ability to maintain a constant intensity of air freshness to their respective environment. For example, as the various volatiles that comprise the air freshening composition evaporate, they usually do so at varying rates, thereby resulting in an ever decreasing effectiveness to deliver adequate air freshness over the life of the air freshener.
What is needed is an air freshening device that is consistent in its ability to deliver a consistent level of air freshening intensity over the usable life of the air freshening device. Also needed is a device that has a usable life in excess of a typical air freshener, such that a user does need to monitor the device to the extent they would need to monitor a typical air freshener.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds