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Title:
AN INTEGRATED REMOTE CONTROLLED FRAGRANCE DISPENSING SYSTEM AND A METHOD THEREOF.
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/030771
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention discloses a fragrance dispensing system comprising at least one fragrance dispensing assembly including dispenser microcontroller means and one or more fragrances and a centralized controller module including central microcontroller operatively connected to each said fragrance dispensing assembly through its dispenser microcontroller means. The centralized controller module enables selective activation or deactivation, dispensation intensity, as well as, the time lag to be maintained between two bursts of one or more of said fragrance in each said fragrance dispensing assembly based on user's olfactory preferences. The fragrance dispensing system also provides a mechanism of aggregating these multiple fragrance dispenser units into a single compact unit, wherein, the fragrance emanated is co-mix of the individual fragrances present. Such a system therefore allows for creative olfactive design within individual dispensers of the aggregated assembly to create unique customized fragrances.

Inventors:
CHAKRABARTY DR DEBOJIT (IN)
DOSHI RIA SARJU (IN)
BAIRAGI KALLOL (IN)
BAPAT HARSHAVARDHAN (IN)
JOSHI ANAY NIKHILESH (IN)
Application Number:
PCT/IN2018/050511
Publication Date:
February 14, 2019
Filing Date:
August 04, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
S H KELKAR AND COMPANY LTD (IN)
International Classes:
B05B12/04; A61L9/03; A61L9/12; A61L9/14; B05B12/06; H04L29/02
Domestic Patent References:
WO2016125141A12016-08-11
WO2017079845A12017-05-18
Foreign References:
US20150297778A12015-10-22
US20150019030A12015-01-15
US20020043568A12002-04-18
US20160106875A12016-04-21
US20170070845A12017-03-09
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
SEN, Anjan (IN)
Download PDF:
Claims:
WE CLAI M:

1. A fragrance dispensing system comprising one or more fragrance dispensers configured to be housed in different locations or confined spaces, each including dispenser microcontroller and dispensable fragrance; a centralized controller module including central microcontroller having operative bi-directional communication with each said fragrance dispenser through its dispenser microcontroller to receive working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the fragrance and send control commands to the fragrance dispenser; said centralized controller module controls dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance dispenser by selectively activating or deactivating the fragrance dispenser through the control commands for stating or stopping dispensation of the fragrance based on user's preferences for a personalized olfactory experience in any of said locations or confined spaces and the fragrances in the connected fragrance dispensers present in said locations or confined spaces.

2. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fragrance dispenser comprises a replaceable fragrance capsule containing the fragrance to be dispensed; a compressor adapted to cooperate with said fragrance capsule and dispense the fragrance contained in said fragrance capsule into air; and a dispenser microcontroller based operating unit adapted to cooperate with said fragrance capsule and said compressor to selectively activate or deactivate the compressor for said controlled dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance capsule based on the control command received from the centralized controller module whereby activation of the compressor starts dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance capsule and deactivation of the compressor stops dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance.

3. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the dispenser microcontroller based operating unit comprises a communication means preferably WiFi unit for establishing bi-directional wireless communication with its corresponding centralized controller module; a switching channel to selectively connect/disconnect the compressor with a power supply for said selective activation or deactivation of the compressor; a capsule interfacing means configured to cooperate with the fragrance capsule upon loading onto the fragrance dispenser for retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule; seven segment display for indications of information related to the fragrance dispenser; and said dispenser microcontroller interfaced to said communication means, said switching channel, said capsule interfacing means and said seven segment display.

4. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the dispenser microcontroller drives the interfaced communication means, switching channel and capsule interfacing means including

(i) retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule by involving the capsule interfacing means and operational status of the compressor by involving the switching channel;

(ii) forwarding the working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the loaded fragrance capsule to the centralized controller module by involving the communication means;

(iii) receiving the control command from the centralized controller module for the fragrance dispenser by involving the communication means; (iv) connecting/disconnecting the compressor with the power supply according to the control command by involving the switching channel for the selective activation or deactivation of the compressor and thereby starting/stopping dispensation of the fragrance from the loaded fragrance capsule whereby fragrance dispensation intensity is proportional with the compressor activation time; and

(iv) displaying information related to the fragrance dispenser through the interfaced seven segment display.

5. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fragrance capsule includes memory chip to store information including authenticity of the fragrance capsule, life, identity, fragrance information and the likes in encrypted format; said capsule interfacing means includes data reader and decoder configured to read and decrypt the encrypted information stored in the memory chip retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule and forwarding the same to the centralized controller module.

6. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the centralized controller module comprises a cooperative communication means preferably WiFi unit adapted to establish bidirectional wireless communication with the communication means of the fragrance dispensers facilitating receiving the working information of the fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules and sending the control commands to the fragrance dispensers; an user interface to connect with user's input device to receive the user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres; a LCD based display to show details of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers; and said central microcontroller interfaced to said cooperative communication means, said user interface and said LCD based display.

7. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the central microcontroller drives the interfaced cooperative communication means, the user interface and the LCD based display including

(i) receiving the working information of the fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules by involving the cooperative communication means;

(ii) receiving the user's preferences for the personalized olfactory experience in atmospheres by involving the user interface;

(iii) sending the control command to the dispenser microcontroller according to the user's preferences by involving the cooperative communication means; (iv) showing the details of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers acquired by the central microcontroller from the connected fragrance dispensers by involving the LCD display.

8. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the central microcontroller is configured to generate the control command based on the user's selection and the working information of the connected fragrance dispensers including details of the fragrance capsules therein; said generated control command is configured to activate or deactivate the connected fragrance dispensers concurrently or consecutively including controlling time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers and individually controlling intensity of fragrance dispensation from each fragrance dispenser to create the personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres.

9. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 1, comprising plurality of the fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances is grouped and assembled under an enclosure unit; wherein the centralized controller module controls the selective activation or deactivation each of the fragrance dispensers of said enclosure unit through the control commands including individually controlling dispensing intensity of each fragrance dispenser for creating configurable blend of dissimilar fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers of the enclosure unit based on user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmosphere surrounding the enclosure unit.

10. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the central microcontroller is configured to control relative rates of fragrance dispensation from the fragrance dispensers assembled under the enclosure unit through the control commands enabling emanation of compound fragrance of varied composition from said enclosure constituted by co-dispensation and co-mixing of different fragrances in different quantity dispensed from the respective fragrance dispensers depending on the relative rates of fragrance dispensation to create one's own likeable version of fragrance.

11. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the enclosure unit accommodates fragrance dispensers containing fragrances corresponding to different segments of a single fragrance composition on the basis of their vapor pressure, whereby fragrances dispensed from said fragrance dispensers constitutes the said fragrance composition.

12. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central microcontroller is configured to manipulate dispensation from the fragrance dispensers to follow a finite time lag.

13. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the user input device preferably includes a remote control device including smartphone embodying a mobile application configured to communicate with the user interface of the centralized controller module to forward the user's instruction in form of coded instruction and receive the information of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers acquired by the central microcontroller and exhibited on the smartphone display.

14. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mobile application is configured to display the information of all the fragrance dispensers attached to the centralized controller module including nature of the fragrance present in all the fragrance dispensers and the fragrance level in each.

15. The fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the user input device further include keypad with navigation switches directly interfaced to the central microcontroller of the centralized controller module enabling the user to manually control the fragrance dispensers.

16. A method for dispensing the fragrance involving the fragrance dispensing system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising receiving user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres through the user's input device in form of the coded instruction; involving the central microcontroller to receive and interpret the coded instruction and the working information of the connected fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules; and generating selective operational commands for said one or more of the fragrance dispensers to activate or deactivate one or more of said connected fragrance dispensers concurrently or consecutively including controlling time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers and individually controlling intensity of dispensation of the fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances and assembled together for creating configurable blend of fragrances involving said dissimilar fragrances of the activated fragrance dispensers to create the personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres embedded in said coded instruction.

Description:
Title: AN I NTEGRATED REMOTE CONTROLLED FRAGRANCE Dl SPENSI NG SYSTEM AND A METHOD THEREOF.

Fl ELD OF THE I NVENTI ON:

The present invention relates to dispensing fragrances into the atmosphere to improve, or, alternatively provide a pleasant olfactory experience to people living in such atmosphere. More specifically, the present invention concerns the development of a flexible integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system and a method to dispense and deliver the fragrances over a large space of a living environment. This involves a mechanism of operable integration of multiple fragrance dispensers distributed across the large space individually or grouped together with a provision of remotely controlling the fragrance dispensing operation through a device.

BACKGROUND OF THE I NVENTI ON: Of late, there has been an increasing interest to provide a pleasurable or pleasant olfactory experience to end users in their living environments such as hotel rooms, banquet halls, movie theatres etc. by dispensing fragrances aerially through the effective use of dispensing systems. Normally, one or more mechanically operated fragrance delivery systems or electrically operated vaporizer systems are used for dispensing fragrances into the atmosphere of the living environment. The intent is to deliver a pleasant fragrance experience to the end user either through the neutralization of the offensive malodour or through effective dispensation of fragrance aerially through convective diffusion.

Different fragrance delivery systems or vaporizer systems and method for supplying or diffusing fragrances into the air have been reported in the art in the past decade or so, e.g.

US patent 7,712,683 discloses a liquid diffusing device with a removable replaceable cartridge. The cartridge includes a venturi, a conduit extending to the venturi, a mixing area and an outlet path for atomizing and dispersing a liquid (fragrance) within the cartridge. The diffusion device including the removable replaceable cartridge is disposed within a housing which also includes a source of compressed gas configured to be directed into the cartridge for facilitating dispersion of the liquid (fragrance) from the cartridge.

US patent 6,790,408 discloses a method for preventing the habituation of a fragrance composition comprising the step of providing to a space, which it is desired to provide a fragrance to, two or more fragrance compositions, at least one of which fragrance compositions is provided periodically. According to the invention of US patent 6,709,408 there is further provided a method wherein a continuous supply of a first fragrance composition and a periodic supply of a second fragrance composition are provided to the space which it is desired to be fragranced.

WO 2017/053953 discloses an electronic vapor device comprising a suitable housing for enclosing and protecting various components, a processor designed or programmed specifically for controlling the vapor device and a power supply for supplying power to the electronic vapor device. The processor is configured to receive control instructions via a network access device and transmit those to an ancillary device which comprises a mixture of vaporizable materials to release vapor into the atmosphere.

Current fragrance or vaporizer dispensing systems are constrained by the area of operation. In a majority of the cases, a single fragrance dispenser system housed within a confined space or zone is amenable to be directly controlled by the user using an effective communication interface working in proximity. An extension of this concept to include multiple fragrance dispenser systems which are housed in multiple locations within a larger zone and yet being operable through a single user control establishing communication with such multiple dispensers is non- trivial and considerably difficult. Furthermore, the dispensation of fragrances over large spaces or in the distributed zones might need some variation or flexibility in terms of providing different fragrance experiences in different areas or zones at the same time. This could be achieved by dispensing selected fragrances in different locations of the large space or in distributed zones simultaneously through effective centralized control of the operations of various dispensers located within different areas. Such a situation cannot be envisioned to be possible with the existing specific or directly controllable fragrance delivery systems and methods thereof. These systems are limited by the area of influence over which the user has control thereof; meaning, typically a single fragrance dispenser or an assembly containing various dispensers could be controlled by the user when the dispensers are all co-located. Thus, there has been a need for developing a new fragrance dispensing system which will address the above limitations of the existing specific or directly controllable fragrance delivery systems. This would, thereby, alleviate the constraints mentioned above and make it possible to deliver using a novel technology concept of fragrance dispensation, either single or varied, across larger spaces while being effectively controlled by a simple user interface communicating with multiple dispensers spread over a wider area. The flexibility of having multiple dispensers in different areas, thereby, providing the ability to dispense desired fragrances is further embellished by design and functionality involving a mechanism of co-assembling multiple dispensers. This affords a distinguishing feature, and, lends itself to olfactive design to provide customized fragrance experiences to the end user.

OBJECT OF THE I NVENTI ON:

It is thus the basic object of the present invention to develop a fragrance dispensing system capable of fragrance emanation over larger spaces with the flexibility to provide either similar or varied fragrance experience within specific sub areas of this large space, for instance, living rooms, and, being effectively controlled by a simple user interface.

Yet another object of the present invention is to develop a highly flexible home fragrance system which would be adapted to provide the end user choice of having multiple fragrance dispensers housed in different zones or confined spaces as part of a larger area, with, each of these having either similar or different fragrances, whilst, being effectively monitored and controlled by a single user interface.

Yet another important object of this invention is to develop a fragrance dispensing system which would allow the end user to effectively monitor the fragrance levels and their emanation intensities, either, when located across different zones or confined spaces as part of a larger area, or, alternatively when integrated as part of one compact unit in single location.

Another object of the present invention is to develop an integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system and a method which would be adapted to provide a smartphone based operating platform for effectively communicating and seeking data based operational information about the multiple fragrance dispensers.

Another object of the present invention is to develop an integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system and a method which would be adapted to provide a smartphone based remotely control of fragrance dispensing process.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide the end user direct effective control on the operations of multiple fragrance dispensing devices or compactly assembled fragrance dispensing devices, whereby, critical information on volume and intensity of fragrances are also available for the end user to see and act upon, in case of fragrance depletion.

Yet another object of the present invention is to develop an integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system and method which allow for dispensation of specific fragrances in specific areas from the fragrance dispensing devices, where, they are placed.

SUMMARY OF THE I NVENTI ON:

Thus according to the basic aspect of the present invention there is provided a fragrance dispensing system comprising one or more fragrance dispensers configured to be housed in different locations or confined spaces, each including dispenser microcontroller and dispensable fragrance; a centralized controller module including central microcontroller having operative bi-directional communication with each said fragrance dispenser through its dispenser microcontroller to receive working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the fragrance and send control commands to the fragrance dispenser; said centralized controller module controls dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance dispenser by selectively activating or deactivating the fragrance dispenser through the control commands for starting or stopping dispensation of the fragrance based on user's preferences for a personalized olfactory experience in any of said locations or confined spaces and the fragrances in the connected fragrance dispensers present in said locations or confined spaces.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the fragrance dispenser comprises a replaceable fragrance capsule containing the fragrance to be dispensed; a compressor adapted to cooperate with said fragrance capsule and dispense the fragrance contained in said fragrance capsule into air; and a dispenser microcontroller based operating unit adapted to cooperate with said fragrance capsule and said compressor to selectively activate or deactivate the compressor for said controlled dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance capsule based on the control command received from the centralized controller module whereby activation of the compressor starts dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance capsule and deactivation of the compressor stops dispensation of the fragrance from the fragrance. In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the dispenser microcontroller based operating unit comprises a communication means preferably WiFi unit for establishing bi-directional wireless communication with its corresponding centralized controller module; a switching channel to selectively connect/disconnect the compressor with a power supply for said selective activation or deactivation of the compressor; a capsule interfacing means configured to cooperate with the fragrance capsule upon loading onto the fragrance dispenser for retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule; seven segment display for indications of information related to the fragrance dispenser; and said dispenser microcontroller interfaced to said communication means, said switching channel, said capsule interfacing means and said seven segment display.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the dispenser microcontroller drives the interfaced communication means, switching channel and capsule interfacing means including

(i) retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule by involving the capsule interfacing means and operational status of the compressor by involving the switching channel; (ii) forwarding the working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the loaded fragrance capsule to the centralized controller module by involving the communication means; (iii) receiving the control command from the centralized controller module for the fragrance dispenser by involving the communication means; (iv) connecting/disconnecting the compressor with the power supply according to the control command by involving the switching channel for the selective activation or deactivation of the compressor and thereby starting/stopping dispensation of the fragrance from the loaded fragrance capsule whereby fragrance dispensation intensity is proportional with the compressor activation time; and

(iv) displaying information related to the fragrance dispenser through the interfaced seven segment display.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the fragrance capsule includes memory chip to store information including authenticity of the fragrance capsule, life, identity, fragrance information and the likes in encrypted format; said capsule interfacing means includes data reader and decoder configured to read and decrypt the encrypted information stored in the memory chip retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule and forwarding the same to the centralized controller module.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the centralized controller module comprises a cooperative communication means preferably WiFi unit adapted to establish bidirectional wireless communication with the communication means of the fragrance dispensers facilitating receiving the working information of the fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules and sending the control commands to the fragrance dispensers; an user interface to connect with user's input device to receive the user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres; a LCD based display to show details of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers; and said central microcontroller interfaced to said cooperative communication means, said user interface and said LCD based display.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the central microcontroller drives the interfaced cooperative communication means, the user interface and the LCD based display including

(i) receiving the working information of the fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules by involving the cooperative communication means;

(ii) receiving the user's preferences for the personalized olfactory experience in atmospheres by involving the user interface;

(iii) sending the control command to the dispenser microcontroller according to the user's preferences by involving the cooperative communication means;

(iv) showing the details of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers acquired by the central microcontroller from the connected fragrance dispensers by involving the LCD display.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the central microcontroller is configured to generate the control command based on the user's selection and the working information of the connected fragrance dispensers including details of the fragrance capsules therein; said generated control command is configured to activate or deactivate the connected fragrance dispensers concurrently or consecutively including controlling time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers and individually controlling intensity of fragrance dispensation from each fragrance dispenser to create the personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres.

In a preferred embodiment, the fragrance dispensing system comprises plurality of the fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances is grouped and assembled under an enclosure unit; wherein the centralized controller module controls the selective activation or deactivation each of the fragrance dispensers of said enclosure unit through the control commands including individually controlling dispensing intensity of each fragrance dispenser for creating configurable blend of dissimilar fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers of the enclosure unit based on user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmosphere surrounding the enclosure unit.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the central microcontroller is configured to control relative rates of fragrance dispensation from the fragrance dispensers assembled under the enclosure unit through the control commands enabling emanation of compound fragrance of varied composition from said enclosure constituted by co-dispensation and co-mixing of different fragrances in different quantity dispensed from the respective fragrance dispensers depending on the relative rates of fragrance dispensation to create one's own likeable version of fragrance. In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the enclosure unit accommodates fragrance dispensers containing fragrances corresponding to different segments of a single fragrance composition on the basis of their vapor pressure, whereby fragrances dispensed from said fragrance dispensers constitutes the said fragrance composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the central microcontroller is configured to manipulate dispensation from the fragrance dispensers to follow a finite time lag.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the user input device preferably includes a remote control device including smartphone embodying a mobile application configured to communicate with the user interface of the centralized controller module to forward the user's instruction in form of coded instruction and receive the information of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers acquired by the central microcontroller and exhibited on the smartphone display.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the mobile application is configured to display the information of all the fragrance dispensers attached to the centralized controller module including nature of the fragrance present in all the fragrance dispensers and the fragrance level in each.

In a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispensing system, the user input device further include keypad with navigation switches directly interfaced to the central microcontroller of the centralized controller module enabling the user to manually control the fragrance dispensers. According to another aspect in the present invention there is provided a method for dispensing the fragrance involving the present fragrance dispensing system comprising receiving user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres through the user's input device in form of the coded instruction; involving the central microcontroller to receive and interpret the coded instruction and the working information of the connected fragrance dispensers including details of the loaded fragrance capsules; and generating selective operational commands for said one or more of the fragrance dispensers to activate or deactivate one or more of said connected fragrance dispensers concurrently or consecutively including controlling time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers and individually controlling intensity of dispensation of the fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances and assembled together for creating configurable blend of fragrances involving said dissimilar fragrances of the activated fragrance dispensers to create the personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres embedded in said coded instruction.

BRI EF DESCRI PTI ON OF THE ACCOMPANYI NG DRAW I NGS:

Fig 1 shows an integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2a shows a preferred embodiment of fragrance dispenser associated with the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig. 2b shows the fragrance dispenser with loaded fragrance capsule associated with the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig. 2c shows block representation of a preferred embodiment of dispenser operating unit associated with the fragrance dispenser of the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispenser system. Fig 2d shows a preferred circuit embodiment of displaying element associated with the present fragrances dispenser operating unit.

Fig 2e shows a preferred circuit embodiment of compressor controlling element associated with the present fragrances dispenser operating unit.

Fig 2f shows a preferred circuit embodiment of WiFi based communication element associated with the present fragrances dispenser operating unit.

Fig 2g shows a preferred circuit embodiment of fragrance capsule interfacing element associated with the present fragrances dispenser operating unit.

Fig 2h shows a preferred circuit embodiment of capsule memory associated with the fragrance capsule.

Fig.3a shows centralized controller module associated with the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig.3b shows block representation of the centralized controller module showing its basic constructional elements in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig 3c shows a preferred circuit embodiment of power supplying element associated with the centralized controller module of the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig 3d shows a preferred circuit embodiment of keypad element associated with the centralized controller module of the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig 3e shows a preferred circuit embodiment of displaying element associated with the centralized controller module of the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system.

Fig 3f shows a preferred circuit embodiment of WiFi based communication element associated with the centralized controller module of the present integrated remote controlled fragrance dispensing system. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYI NG DRAW I NGS:

The present invention discloses an integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system to dispense fragrances into the atmosphere of the living environment, including, but not limited to hotel rooms, banquet halls, movie theatres etc. to provide a pleasant olfactory experience. The present invention describes the features of a remotely controlled device which through effective communication through a central control unit is able to control the operations of fragrance dispensation and their intensities. These fragrances could be similar or different depending on the end users preference, but, in case of the latter, allows each confined space to have a different olfactory experience. It must be noted that all important and critical functions of the dispenser unit in terms of the intensity with which fragrance is allowed to be emanated, as well as, clear end-of- life indicator of individual fragrance levels is present in different dispensers. Yet another aspect of this invention is the flexibility that these dispensers can potentially demonstrated by allowing multiple dispenser units to be assembled and compacted within a single unit, so that, a blend of multiple fragrance experiences could also be provided within a single zone or living room of the large household. Therefore, the multiple fragrance dispensers could either be assembled and housed in one compact unit and placed in a single location, or, alternatively located in different zones or confined spaces of the larger living space. Also, the choice of fragrances used within individual dispensers is the end users prerogative.

Reference is first invited from the accompanying fig 1 which schematically represents a preferred embodiment of the present integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system. As shown in the referred fig 1, the present integrated remotely controllable fragrance dispensing system (1) basically includes a fragrance dispensing assembly of one or more individual fragrances dispensers (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, ...) and a centralized controller module (3). The embodiment of the present system as shown in the fig 1, the fragrance dispensing assembly includes four separate fragrance dispensers; however the number of fragrance dispensers is not restricted by this number alone. These could be higher or lower in number basis the requirement of the end user, but, within the operational constraints of the working of the complete device.

The fragrance dispensers (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, ...) may contain similar or dissimilar fragrances for dispensing into atmospheres surrounding the fragrance dispensers. The fragrance dispensers can be placed spaced apart from each other in different locations. In an alternative arrangement, few fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances can be grouped and assembled in one compact enclosure unit to dispense a blend of multiple dissimilar fragrances. Each of such enclosure unit can also be placed in a single location.

In the present system (1), the centralized controller module (3) acts as an interface between the user input device (4) and the fragrance dispensers (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, ...). The centralized controller module (3) interprets the coded user's instructions as received from the user input device (4) and working information of the fragrance dispensers (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, ...) as acquired from the dispensers itself and accordingly provides instructions to fragrance dispensers by the form of control commands to dispense the fragrances contained therein (master-slave concept). The centralized controller module (3) of the present system (1) basically establishes an operative communication network between all the fragrances dispensers (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, ...) and the user's input device (4) to enable selective activation or deactivation of all or few selective connected fragrance dispensers according to the user's instructions. This therefore ensures that the end user has control on selectively activating or deactivating, as well as, also deciding on what fragrance types or a combination thereof should get dispensed from each of these individual dispensers.

In the present system (1), the centralized controller module (3) controls selective activation or deactivation of one or more of the connected fragrance dispensers concurrently or consecutively including controlling time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers based on user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience through the user's input device. The centralized controller module (3) is also adapted to control the selective activation or deactivation of the fragrance dispensers of the enclosure unit or grouped and assembled fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances for individually controlling intensity of dispensation of each activated fragrance dispensers of enclosure unit and creating configurable blend of fragrances involving multiple of said dissimilar fragrances based on user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmosphere surrounding the enclosure unit through said user's input device.

The accompanying Fig 2a shows a preferred embodiment of the fragrance dispenser involved in the present system and the accompanying figure 2b shows the fragrance dispenser loaded with fragrance capsule. The fragrance capsule is replaceable and contains the fragrance to be dispensed. The fragrance dispenser also includes a compressor and a microcontroller based dispenser operating unit cooperative to said compressor and said fragrance capsule. The compressor can be detachably integrated with the fragrance capsule upon loading onto the fragrance dispenser and dispense the fragrance contained in said fragrance capsule into air.

The microcontroller based dispenser operating unit of the fragrance dispenser is adapted to communicate with the centralized controller module connected to said fragrance dispenser for forwarding working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the loaded fragrance capsule and receiving control commands from the connected centralized controller module and accordingly control dispensation of the fragrance from the loaded fragrance capsule. Reference in this regards invited from the accompanying fig 2c which shows a block representation of the present microcontroller based dispenser operating unit. As shown in the fig 2c, the microcontroller based dispenser operating unit basically includes a communication means, a driving channel for the compressor, a capsule interfacing means, a display module and a microcontroller means. The communication means of the dispenser operating unit preferably includes WiFi unit for establishing bi-directional wireless communication with its corresponding centralized controller module to facilitate forwarding of the working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the loaded fragrance capsule and receiving the control commands from the connected centralized controller module. The circuit representation of the WiFi interface is shown in the accompanying fig 2f.

The driving channel for the compressor of the dispenser operating unit is basically a MOSFET based switching channel and provided to control on/off time of the compressor by connecting/disconnecting the compressor with the power supply of the fragrance dispenser according to the control commands from the corresponding centralized controller module for starting/stopping dispensation of the fragrance from the loaded fragrance capsule along with controlling the dispensation intensity which is proportional with the compressor on-time. The circuit representation of the compressor driving channel is shown in the accompanying fig 2e.

The microcontroller means of the dispenser operating unit is interfaced with the communication means, the drive channel, the capsule interfacing means and the seven segment display of the dispenser operating unit to receive data or signal from such interfaced elements. The microcontroller means also embodies inbuilt RAM and flash for firmware execution to analyze the received data/signal and accordingly control said interfaced elements based on the analysis including (i) retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule through the interfaced capsule interfacing means, (ii) forwarding working information of the fragrance dispenser including details of the loaded fragrance capsule to the centralized controller module and receiving therefrom the control command for the fragrance dispenser through the interfaced communication means, (iii) connecting/disconnecting the compressor with the power supply according to the control command through the interfaced switching channel for controlling on/off time of the compressor to start/stop dispensation of the fragrance from the loaded fragrance capsule along with the dispensation intensity which is proportional with the compressor on-time and (iv) displaying the information related to the fragrance dispenser through the interfaced seven segment display. The microcontroller means is configured to run on 3.3V power and embodies inbuilt RAM and flash for firmware execution to analyze the received data or signal from the interfaced elements and accordingly control the interfaced communication means, drive channel, capsule interfacing means and display module. The display module of the dispenser operating unit preferably includes seven segment LED based display for indications of information related to the fragrance dispenser. The seven segment display communicates with the microcontroller means serially over SPI protocol to display current dispensing intensity and various indications like unpaired dispensers, no connection and compressor off condition. The circuit representation of the display interface is shown in the accompanying fig 2d.

In a preferred embodiment of the present system, the fragrance dispenser involves a unique mechanism to verify authentic fragrance capsule and prevents the system operation with tampered fragrance capsule. All fragrance capsules are embedded with small thin ring shape PCB unit with a memory chip. The memory chip stores encrypted data which is encrypted with unique key. The encrypted data contains information relating to the authenticity of the fragrance capsule, life, ID, fragrance information and the like which is retrievable by the capsule interfacing means. The capsule interfacing means has the data decoder and data reader decrypt, and, reads the encrypted data of fragrance capsule upon loading onto the fragrance dispenser for retrieving details of the loaded fragrance capsule and enabling the dispenser to work only when there is original capsule placed on the dispenser. In a preferred embodiment, the original fragrance capsule enclosing the fragrance is well sealed. The circuitry at the bottom of the capsule enables the PCB to communicate with the dispenser only if the capsule is sealed thoroughly. An unsealed capsule shall cease to function in the dispenser, thereby, ensuring that product piracy is prevented, and, that only authenticated sealed capsules provided by the original manufacturer can work in such dispensers. The circuit representation of the capsule interface and the capsule memory is shown in the accompanying fig 2g and 2h respectively. Reference in next invited from the accompanying fig 3a which shows the external view of the controller module (3), whereas, the accompanying Fig 3b shows block representation of the centralized controller module showing its basic constructional elements in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the Fig 3b, the centralized controller module basically comprises a Wi-Fi based cooperative communication means to establish a wireless communication with the communication means of fragrance dispensers of the connected fragrance dispensing assembly and a central microcontroller to control dispensing of the fragrance from the fragrance dispensers and create the olfactory experience basis, users selection. The centralized controller module also includes user interface to connect with user's input device for receiving and interpreting the coded instruction from the user input device (4) on user's selection of creating personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres.

In a preferred embodiment, the central microcontroller with a memory device embodies computer program for receiving and interpreting the coded instruction and the working information of the fragrance dispensers, including, the details of fragrance capsules loaded therein, and, thereby generate selective operational commands for one or more of the said fragrance dispensers which is forwarded to their respective microcontroller based dispenser operating units via the bidirectional communication network for selective activation or deactivation of the said fragrance dispensers either concurrently or in a sequential fashion. The operational commands also includes time of dispensation of the fragrances from the activated fragrance dispensers and intensity of dispensation of each individual fragrance dispensers containing dissimilar fragrances and assembled together for creating configurable blend of fragrances involving said dissimilar fragrances of the activated fragrance dispensers to create the personalized olfactory experience in the atmospheres embedded in the coded instruction. The central microcontroller is also configured to schedule fragrances delivery for example: switch on fragrance dispenser 2a for 1 hour and then fragrance dispenser 2c and 2d for 1 hour, implement an alarm mechanism to allow the user to schedule certain fragrance dispensers to be on at fixed times for example: fragrance dispenser 2b should be switched on at full intensity at a particular time every day and other similar functionality in respect of the fragrances delivery. The user has complete control on the manner in which individual dispensation from various dispensers should happen. For instance, these could be simultaneous or sequential, and, furthermore also decide on lag times of dispensation based on preferences. Also, the individual dispensation intensities could be controlled based on user preferences and choice.

The controller module also includes an LCD screen to display the required details or information in respect of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers as acquired by the central microcontroller from the connected fragrance dispensers. The display interface of the central control module is shown in the accompanying Fig 3e.

The centralized controller module also includes an operative power supply. The central module can run on standard 12V DC adaptor. However its internal circuitry requires 5V and 3.3 V to operate. Therefore power supply section generates+5V and +3.3V for internal circuit use. It uses simple fixed DC-DC step down converters to achieve 5V and 3.3V. The power supply section circuit is shown in the accompanying Fig 3c. In a preferred embodiment, the central microcontroller of the present system is specifically configured to control relative rates of fragrance dispensation from the fragrance dispensers assembled under the enclosure unit enabling emanation of compound fragrance of varied composition from the enclosure through co- dispensation and co-mixing of different fragrances in different quantity dispensed from the respective fragrance dispensers depending on the relative rates of fragrance dispensation to create one's own likeable version of fragrance. The selection of the fragrance dispensers containing fragrances to be accommodated in the enclosure unit can be done on the basis of their vapor pressure wherein the fragrances correspond to different segments of a single fragrance composition. The central microcontroller is also configured to manipulate dispensation from the fragrance dispensers to follow a finite time lag. The following table 1 shows the emanation of compound fragrance of varied composition constituted by co-dispensation and co-mixing of different fragrances in different quantities by involving the present system.

Table 1

In the present system, the central microcontroller can be programmed via ST-link connector and can also be reset using power recycle. After initializing, the microcontroller runs its firmware all the time and takes decisions based on an algorithm running inside the firmware. The display and user interface including any keypad are interfaced to the central microcontroller in parallel where ST-link and WiFi module are interfaced to the central microcontroller in serial. The circuit representation of the Wifi module is shown in the accompanying Figure 3f. The user input device (4) can be a remote control device such as a smartphone embodying a mobile application configured to communicate with the central microcontroller of the controller module to forward the user's instruction to the central microcontroller and receive the information in respect of the fragrances delivery including operational status of the fragrance dispensers as acquired by the central microcontroller. The user input device (4) may include keypad with navigation switches (as shown in the fig 3d) on the controller module enabling user to manually control the fragrance dispensers. On the mobile application, the user can see all the fragrance dispensers currently attached to the controller module. The application will display the nature of the fragrance present in the fragrance dispensers and the fragrance level in each. It will allow the user to switch on/off or change the intensities of whichever fragrance dispensers have been chosen. The user can exercise the option of naming the fragrance dispensers. That is, he can rename the fragrance dispensers that he keeps in his living room and Bathroom as 'Living Room' and 'Bathroom' respectively thus making sure that he knows which fragrance dispenser he is controlling. This renaming of the fragrance dispensers will signify which room contains which fragrance dispenser.

Thus the present system, which advantageously integrates multiple fragrance dispensers to facilitate dispensing of different fragrances in different zones or different locations of the large space in same time, dispensing selected fragrances in different zones or in different locations of the large space in selected time and like in order to provide a pleasant and delightful olfactory experience, is a significant technical improvement in the related art. The present system implemented as a home fragrance system can provide different fragrances to different rooms in the house. In this home fragrance system, one can experience various olfactory profiles in different large spaces depending on one's choice. Alternatively, the multiple dispensers are capable of being aggregated into one single compact unit, where, preferred olfactory experiences could be created within a single zone depending on the fragrance constituents of individually aggregated dispensers. Such an arrangement therefore lends itself to creative olfactive design construction. Currently, if a user desires to experience different fragrance directions in different large spaces he has to buy individual dispensers and have these placed separately. The current invention obviates such a need and provides a simple solution for not only having multiple dispensers in different spaces, but, also allows one to choose a desired fragrance and control its dispensation rate to have a customized experience. For example, consider a market existent fragrance device Ά'. If a consumer wishes to install fragrances in his hall, dining area and two bedrooms, he will have to buy four devices of 'A' to suit his needs. Alternatively, the present system implemented as the home fragrance theatre system integrating multiple fragrance dispensers and controlling the same through a single point abolishes the need of buying multiple independent fragrance devices. Hence, the present system is also economically beneficial as compared to the existing fragrance devices.