The present invention relates to a device for releasing volatile substances, in particular a device for vehicles having a gel deposit which limits the deformation of the gel during evaporation.

Background of the invention

The use of air fresheners for vehicles has been a growing market in recent years. There are different technologies for this application which are based on the same domestic use technologies. For example, devices with a bottle and a wick, membrane devices, etc., the majority with a clamping element to fix the device to the ventilation screen of the air conditioning system of the vehicle.

A technology which has been growing considerably recently consists of a system which has a solid gel which contains a volatile substance. This system has a minimal construction: an open container in which the gel has been poured prior to being made solid, a peelable barrier sheet to prevent the evaporation of the product prior to the first use and a clamping element.

The clamping element is often placed in the center of the container to allow the device to be assembled in the center of the screen. Thus the container has a central part, usually cylindrical in which the clamping element is fixed. This means that the device is sold with the clamping element unassembled in order to allow the removal of the barrier sheet.

A significant problem with the use of these types of devices based on gel is linked to the fact that the gel progressively contracts when the volatile substance is released. This contraction is not homogenous over the entire volume of the gel since only one side of the gel is exposed to the atmosphere, generally the rear part of the device, that is to say, the part that is oriented towards the ventilation screen. Thus, this side of the gel contracts first, which can cause the bending of the gel in the direction of the screen.

This is critical if the bending is so significant that the gel ends up contacting the plastic ventilation screen, or the dashboard of the vehicle since the most commonly used plastics for manufacturing the screen or the dashboard are selected for the mechanical and aesthetic characteristics thereof, but they have very poor resistance to perfumes.

Therefore, the contact between the gel and the plastic of the vehicle may cause discoloration of the plastic, the separation or the appearance of bubbles or creases in the coating of the plastic. If this occurs, the only solution is to replace the damaged parts which may be expensive.

This phenomenon is made even more difficult to solve because there are a very high number of usage configurations of the product since there are a wide number of designs of the screen, different ways of fixing the device on the same screen and different environmental conditions for the evaporation (heating, air conditions, ultraviolet light system, etc.).

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a device for releasing volatile substances for vehicles having a gel deposit which limits the deformation of the gel during the evaporation. Description of the invention

Using the device for releasing volatile substances of the invention, the cited drawbacks can be resolved, presenting other advantages which are described below.

The device for releasing volatile substances according to the present invention comprises a container which contains a solid substrate impregnated with volatile substances and a clamping element and is characterized in that it also comprises at least two retaining arms of the solid substrate.

Owing to these arms, the deformation of the solid substrate is contained since they force said solid substrate to maintain the position thereof in contact with the arms.

Advantageously, said arms extend substantially from the center of the container and towards the larger exterior edge of the container.

According to a preferred embodiment, said arms are joined to the clamping element by means of an axis and said arms being substantially perpendicular to said axis.

Furthermore, the impregnated solid is preferably a gel.

According to alternative embodiments, said container has a rectangular longitudinal section and the arms extend from the center of the rectangle towards the smaller sides thereof or said container has a triangular longitudinal section and three arms extend from the center of the triangle towards the vertices thereof or said container has a quadrangular longitudinal section and four arms extend from the center of the square towards the vertices thereof.

Brief description of the drawings

In order to better understand what has been stated, drawings are included in which a practical embodiment is depicted schematically and only as a non-limiting example.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the clamping element and the arms which form part of the device for releasing volatile substances according to the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device for releasing volatile substances in which the contraction of the deposit during the use thereof has been depicted in dashed lines. Description of a preferred embodiment

The device for releasing volatile substances according to the present invention comprises a container 1 for containing a solid substrate, for example a gel, impregnated with volatile substances, a clamping element 2 for the fixing thereof to, for example a ventilation screen of a vehicle and at least two retaining arms 3 of the solid substrate which can be housed at least partially in the interior of the container 1 and in contact with the solid substrate.

These three arms 3 limit the possible bending of the gel with a limited influence on the evaporation.

According to the embodiment depicted, said clamping element 2 is joined to the arms 3 by means of an axis 4 and said arms 3 are substantially perpendicular with respect to said axis 4.

According to the embodiment depicted, the arms 3 advantageously extend along the longitudinal axis of the container 1 to lock the movement of the gel when it contracts.

The number of arms 3 mainly depends on the geometry of the container

1 . As the gel is locked from the axis 4, the arms 3 must lock the gel in the direction of the greatest distance from the axis 4 to the edge of the container 1 .

Thus, in the case of a container 1 with a longitudinal design, for example substantially rectangular, only two arms 3 will be necessary.

In the case of a container 1 with a triangular design, three arms 3 aligned in the direction between the center and the vertices of the triangle will be necessary.

In the case of a container 1 with a square design, four arms 3 will be necessary, extending from the center towards the vertices of the square.

It must be indicated that for other types of shapes, it is envisaged that four arms 3 will be sufficient to solve the contraction problem since an excessive number of arms may present the drawback of covering the gel too much and thus reducing the evaporation.

The arms 3 have a minimum thickness for mechanically supporting the deformation of the gel, the thickness thereof being approximately 2 to 3 mm.

The length of the arms 3 can be extended along the entire dimension of the container, that is to say, to the exterior edges or vertices, although it is sufficient to cover only 80% of this distance, that is to say, they can approach the edge or vertex, but leave a separation. In fact, the length of the arms 3 will be the length necessary for preventing the bending level of the gel exceeding the external perimeter plane of the container 1 .

In this way, the bending problem of the gel during the contraction thereof is resolved in a very simple and low-cost manner, simply by adding the arms 3 and without having to modify the design of any other components thereof.

In spite of the fact that reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is evident for a person skilled in the art that the device for releasing volatile substances described is capable of undergoing numerous variations and modifications and that all the details mentioned can be substituted for others which are technically equivalent without departing from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.