Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This invention relates to space air treatment devices which have a solid, scented
composition as the active ingredient. More particularly, it relates to hollow, solid room
freshener devices and a method of forming them from a molten composition with great
economy.
Solid space air treating devices have been known which are formed by filling a
molten composition through an orifice in the top of a container, closing the orifice and
permitting the composition to solidify while in storage. Typically, such devices have a
base, an upper closure sealably connected to the base, and means to support the upper
portion in spaced relation to the lower portion. When the user wants to activate the
device, the upper portion is moved away from the base a predetermined distance, and
room air through naturul convection crosses its surface and is freshened by the active
ingredients. Such devices are extremely popular, but the containers are expensive and
account for a disproportionate portion of the selling price of the treating device. The
devices are typically made of carrageenan which shrinks as it becomes dehydrated and
presents an unattractive appearance at the later stages of its effectiveness.
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127
Other devices are known in which a molten active ingredient is charged into a
container having a decorative arrangement of openings on its surface. The openings are
then closed with a pressure sensitive material. The user activates the devices by
removing the pressure sensitive material. The devices are cheaper than those described
above. Their attractiveness depends on the ornamental appearance of the container in
which they were packaged.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a space air treating device in
which the active ingredient is made in an ornamental appearance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a space air treating de-
vice which is hollow and being made of non-shrinkable composition does not tend to shrink
or deteriorate in appearance during use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an economical method for
manufacturing room air treating devices which are ornamental in appearance.
Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the
art from reading the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a hollow, ornamental space
air treating device;
FIGURE 2 is a plan view of one half of the mold used for preparing the device of
Figure l;
FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of one half of the mold taken generally along lines
3-3 of Figure 2;
FIGURE 4 is a partial side elevational view of one half of the mold of Figure 2
generally along lines 4-4;
FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of one half of the mold in its position in an
assembly clamping frame and filled with a molten composition;
FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of two molds joined in the assembly clamping
frame; and
FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken generally along lines 7-7 of
Figure 6, showing a sectional view of the formed, hollow ornamental device at the time of
its removal from the assembly clamping frame.
lZ~
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Articles with intricate shapes can be made or "found" out of thermoplastic
polymer materials. One process which is particularly advantageous for molding intricately
shaped articles is the rotational molding process. In this process, powder or granules of
plastic polymer being cross linkable and containing the cross linking agent are introduced
into a mold. The closed mold is then heated from the outside and rotated, preferably
around two axes with different rotational speeds. During this process, the polymer fuses
and cross links, thus forming a layer of cross linked material on the inner surface of the
mold. Sturdy articles with intricate shapes can economically be produced by this process.
The same process of rotational molding may be applied to molten materials
which are adapted to solidify during the rotational molding process.
The objects of this invention may be accomplished with a mold which may be
made in an intricate shape, for instance, by thermoforming, and is capable of receiving a
charge of a molten composition which has space air treating capabilities.
The space air treating device or pomander 10 is shown in Figure 1. The mold 11
consists of a first portion 12 and a second portion 14 which are each a replica of half of the
sculpture or ornamental figure desired for the final product 10. A tongue 16 and groove 18
assure a tight fit around the periphery of each portion of the mold and hold them tightly
together to assure good shelf life before sale. The first portion 12 of the mold is placed in
the lower portion 25 of a horizontal assembly clamping frame 26 with the cavity down-
ward. An isolating disc 28, which may be formed of paperboard and plastic foam, is
placed in a slot 30 provided in the mold. The purpose of the isolating disc is to provide a
site for a label and prevent contact of the air treating composition with the surface on
which the device rests when in use to prevent marking of the surface. The mold 12 is then
filled with a predetermined amount of castable material 32. Preferably this is a space air
treating composition having the formula described below and which is molten at about
150 F. Then the second portion 14 of the mold is placed on top of the first portion 12 and
fitted snugly into place by tongue and groove sections. The hinged upper portion 27 of the
fixture 26 is moved downwardly and engages the tongue and groove joints 16, 18 of the
mold 11 creating a mechanical seal and is also removably engagable with the lower portion
of the clamping fixture.
~S~6127
The assembly clamping frame is then placed on a rotational casting machine and
rotated until the molten material has solidified into a hollow pomander 10 having a wall
34. The mold containing the solidified unit is then removed from the clamping fixture.
The finished product remaining in the mold 11 is punctured with a small hole to prevent
deformation is then ready for secondary packaging with or without additional trade dress.
The mold 11 is used not only for imparting the particular shape to the product, but
is also used as the primary container. The ultimate user removes the pomander from the
primary package by pulling the first portion 12 from the second portion 14. Tabs are
provided for this purpose which will break the mechanical seal. The pomander is then set
on its isolating base 28 in an appropriate place to treat the room air. The pomander so
used provides an attractive, ornamental appearance.
The treating composition formula consists of paraffin waxes, stabilizers, pigment
and fragrance.
A particularly advantageous formula contains the following ingredients:
Percent
Ingredient by weight
Paraffin Wax (145 F Paraffin Wax) 69.22
Microcrystalline Wax (Shell Micro Wax) 15.00
~Purified Mixture Semisolid Hydrocarbons (Petrolatum)5.00
Polyethylene Wax (Polyethylene AC-400) 3.00
UV5411 (2~2-Hydroxy-5-tert.-Octylphenyl)Benzotriazole) .25
UV531 (2-Hydroxy-4-N~ctylbenzophenone) .25
BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) .03
Titanium dioxide .7s
Eæential O l Perfume 6.50
100.00
~A colloidal system of nonstraight-chain solid hydrocarbons and
high boiling liquid hydrocarbons, in which most of the liquid
hydrocarbons are held inside the micelles.
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1~6~Z7
As may be seen from the foregoing, the product of the invention is a primary
package for a solid space air treating device comprising first and second portions of a
thin, semi-rigid, thermoplastic resin, each of said portions having a cavity formed in a
predetermined pattern which is u replica of the shape of the final product, and each of
said portions having means to sealably engage the other of said portion; and a hollow, solid
space air treating device disposed within said cavities and filling said predetermined
pattern whereby said air treating device may be stored with said resin portions in place
and may be activated by their removal. The product may be in any convenient shape, such
as the owl shown in the drawing.
In one particularly advantageous embodiment the mold portions are thermo-
formed in a multi-cavity mold from 0.015 inch thick polyvinyl chloride, and the isolating
disc is made from printed cardboard with a foamed plastic backing.
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