US 7,534,406 B2
Steam fog generator for vehicle
Isao Takemura, Tokyo (Japan)
Assigned to S. T. Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/496,432
PCT Filed Jan. 22, 2003, PCT No. PCT/JP03/00521
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Jul. 06, 2004,
PCT Pub. No. WO03/066113, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 14, 2003.
Claims priority of application No. 2002-029391 (JP), filed on Feb. 06, 2002.
Prior Publication US 2004/0258578 A1, Dec. 23, 2004
Int. Cl. A61L 2/08 (2006.01); A62B 7/08 (2006.01); A61L 9/00 (2006.01); B01D 47/00 (2006.01); A61M 16/00 (2006.01); A61H 33/06 (2006.01); A24F 25/00 (2006.01); F25B 37/00 (2006.01); F02M 15/04 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 422—305  [422/26; 422/28; 422/120; 422/124; 422/125; 261/24; 261/30; 261/102; 261/140; 261/142; 392/390; 392/391; 392/394; 239/34; 239/50; 239/57; 219/271; 219/275] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A steam fog generator for vehicle comprising:
a plug part attachable to and detachable from an accessory socket provided in a cabin;
a steam fog generator body extending from said plug part into the cabin, power being supplied from the vehicle through said plug part;
said steam fog generator body including a holding part for attachably and detachably holding a cartridge containing liquid chemicals, a heating element that produces heat by the power supplied through said plug part to heat said liquid chemicals in a container part of said cartridge and allows said liquid chemicals to pass outward through a permeable membrane covering a top opening of said container part, and divergence means for diverging said liquid chemicals having passed through said permeable membrane into the cabin;
said steam fog generator body including an operating switch for turning on and off the power to be supplied to said heating element;
said holding part including a loading/unloading port for loading and unloading said cartridge into and from said steam fog generator body, and a storage space for loadably and unloadably storing said cartridge inserted through said loading/unloading port;
said divergence means being constituted by a divergence port that provides communication between said storage space and the outside;
at least one of said container part and said permeable membrane of said cartridge, and said steam fog generator body being made of a transparent material;
said steam fog generator body including an observation part for observing the amount of liquid remaining in said cartridge; and
said steam fog generator body extending from said plug part being foldably connected to said plug part, and limiting means being provided for limiting a folding direction of said steam fog generator body to a bottom side of said held cartridge.