DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an air freshener for vehicles, in particular, a single-use air freshener at low cost compared to air fresheners for conventional vehicles.

Background of the invention

The use of air fresheners in the interior of vehicles is well known in the market. Interior air fresheners for vehicles comprise a plastic casing that envelopes the replacement with the volatile substances and a plastic fixing element. This fixing element helps to maintain the air freshener at a certain distance from the dashboard and in the correct position in the vehicle grille.

The major drawback of these products is that, since the parts (casing and fixing element) are made of plastic, the investments to be made in moulds are high, which implies that the product is also expensive on the market.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an air freshener for vehicles whose cost is as low as possible, without implying expensive investments in moulds.

Description of the invention

The air freshener for vehicles of the invention resolves the aforementioned drawbacks and has other advantages that will be described below.

The air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention comprises a casing which houses a receptacle of volatile substances and at least one fixing element that can be fixed to an interior vent grille of a vehicle and is characterised in that the casing and said at least one fixing element are made of cardboard.

Advantageously, said casing and said at least one fixing element are formed from two cardboard sheets joined together, said receptacle of volatile substances being fixed between said two cardboard sheets.

According to a preferred embodiment, the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention comprises two fixing elements, which are two tongues. Additionally, said tongues advantageously comprise a fold line at their end nearest to the casing and each tongue preferably comprises a fixing slot.

Advantageously, the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention also comprises an external board, which is joined to the casing and to said at least one fixing element by means of a pre-die cut line, said external board being made preferably of cardboard. This external board is envisaged to be used with the air freshener's container itself and, to this end, may comprise a hole for placing it on a display stand for direct sale to the public.

Due to these characteristics, a very low-cost air freshener for vehicles is achieved which enables it to be a single-use air freshener, since it does not require the use of moulds for the manufacture thereof.

Brief description of the drawings

In order to make the foregoing more readily understandable, a set of drawings is attached, wherein, schematically and by way of illustration and not limitation, a practical embodiment is represented.

Figure 1 shows a front view of a first embodiment of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a rear view of the first embodiment of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the first embodiment of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention;

Figures 5 and 6 show front views of a second and third embodiments of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 7 shows a side view of a fourth embodiment of the air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention.

Description of a preferred embodiment

The air freshener for vehicles in accordance with the present invention is intended for its use fixed to a vent grille of the vehicle, in the manner of conventional plastic air fresheners.

The air freshener comprises a casing 1 housing a receptacle 2 containing volatile substances, which are evaporated into the ambient air, said evaporation being facilitated by the vehicle's ventilation system.

The fixation of the casing 1 to the vent grille of the vehicle is carried out by means of at least one fixing element 3, preferably by means of two tongues, as can be observed in the figures.

In accordance with the invention and as opposed to conventional vehicle air fresheners, the casing 1 and tongues 3 are made of cardboard, such that their manufacture is much simpler and cheaper than the manufacture of air fresheners containing plastic parts requiring the manufacture of appropriate moulds.

In order to assemble the receptacle 2, the casing 1 and tongues 3 are formed from two cardboard sheets joined together, such that the receptacle 2 is arranged between the two sheets, preferably projecting through an opening, as can be observed in figure 3.

In order to facilitate its installation in the vent grille of the vehicle, the tongues 3 comprise a fold line 4 at their end nearest to the casing 1 , such that in their use position the tongues 3 are approximately perpendicular to the plane defined by said casing 1 .

Additionally, in order to fix it to the vent grille of the vehicle, each tongue 3 advantageously comprises a fixing slot 5, in the interior of which a slat of the vent grille is introduced when the air freshener is arranged in its use position.

The air freshener of the present invention also comprises an external board 6 that envelopes the casing 1 and the tongues 3 before the first use of the air freshener. The union between the external board 6, the casing 1 and the tongues 3 is executed by means of a pre-die cut line 7.

Therefore, the air freshener in accordance with the present invention is sold as an assembly, formed by the external board 6, which is also made of cardboard, the casing 1 and the tongues 3. In order to facilitate the storage thereof, the external board 6 comprises a hole 8 located on its upper portion so it can be hanged from a display stand inside a shop.

When the user wishes to use the air freshener, he or she simply has to separate the casing 1 , receptacle 2 and tongue 3 assembly, which is facilitated by the pre-die cut line 7.

Once this assembly has been separated, the user must fold the tongues 3 such that they are substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by the casing 1 , so as to allow the fixation thereof to the vent grille of a vehicle.

It should be noted that the air freshener in accordance with the present invention is not designed to be recharged, but its low cost allows it to be single- use.

Figures 5 to 7 represent three alternative embodiments of the air freshener represented in figures 1 to 4 and described above.

For the sake of simplicity, the same numerical references are used to identify the same parts of the air freshener.

The second embodiment (represented in figure 5) only differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the tongues 3, which evidently may adopt any appropriate shape.

As regards to the third embodiment (represented in figure 6), the main difference is the arrangement of the tongues 3, which are not substantially perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the casing 1 , but rather are arranged forming a right or acute angle to each other, as can be observed in figure 5.

In the fourth embodiment (represented in figure 7), the main difference is that the tongues 3 comprise a transverse fold line, such that the tongues 3 remain in the position represented in this figure for their fixing to the vent grille of the vehicle.

Despite the fact that reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is evident to the person skilled in the art that the described air freshener for vehicles is susceptible of many variations and changes, and that all the aforementioned details may be replaced with other, technically equivalent ones without detracting from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.