Aroma generating apparatus and driver circuit
First Claim
1. An apparatus for generating an aroma from an aroma containing material, said apparatus comprising producing means operative for intermittently producing an aroma from said material over a time period, and circuit means for providing a signal in response to the total accumulated time of intermittent operation of said producing means over said time period and substantially unresponsive to the time of intermittent inoperation of said producing means over said time period.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An aroma generating apparatus includes a driver circuit which functions as a real time lapse counter and includes a signal indicator to designate the replacement period of useful lifetime of the aroma producing cartridge. The driver circuit continuously operates between a low frequency during the off state of the resistance heating element and a high frequency during energizing of the resistance heating element. The dual frequency permits monitoring ofthe real time operation of the apparatus without the need of providing memory devices to accommodate inoperative periods of the apparatus.
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Citations
25 Claims
- 1. An apparatus for generating an aroma from an aroma containing material, said apparatus comprising producing means operative for intermittently producing an aroma from said material over a time period, and circuit means for providing a signal in response to the total accumulated time of intermittent operation of said producing means over said time period and substantially unresponsive to the time of intermittent inoperation of said producing means over said time period.
- 9. An aroma generating apparatus comprising a housing, aroma containing material receivable within said housing, producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material for a time period, and reset means for resetting said time period in response to the presence of said material within said housing, said housing and said aroma containing material cooperatively constructed to permit resetting of said means upon linear insertion of said material into said housing.
- 17. An aroma producing cartridge for use in an aroma generating apparatus, said apparatus including circuit means operative for producing an aroma from said cartridge over a time period, said cartridge comprising a first body portion containing an aroma producing material and a second body portion containing aroma producing material operatively engageable with said circuit means for resetting said time period.
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20. An apparatus for generating an aroma from an aroma containing material, said apparatus comprising producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material, and circuit means for producing a signal in response to a time period of operation of said producing means, said circuit means including a timing circuit having a first frequency of operation responsive to the operation of said producing means and a second frequency of operation responsive to the inoperation of said producing means.
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21. An apparatus for generating an aroma from an aroma containing material, said apparatus comprising producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material, and circuit means for providing a signal in response to a time period of operation of said producing means, and coupling means for coupling the operation of said circuit means responsive to the operation of said producing means, said coupling means comprising a photocell and a light source.
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22. An aroma generating apparatus comprising a housing, aroma containing material receivable within said housing, producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material for a time period, reset means for resetting said time period in response to the presence of said material within said housing, and circuit means for producing a signal in response to expiration of said time period, said circuit means including a timing circuit having a first frequency of operation responsive to the operation of said producing means and a second frequency of operation responsive to the inoperation of said producing means.
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23. An aroma generating apparatus comprising a housing, aroma containing material receivable within said housing, producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material for a time period, and reset means for resetting said time period in response to the presence of said material within said housing, circuit means for providing a signal in respones to expiration of said time period and coupling means for coupling the operation of said circuit means responsive to the operation of said producing means, said coupling means comprises a photocell and a light source.
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24. An aroma generating apparatus comprising a housing, aroma containing material receivable within said housing, producing means operative for producing an aroma from said material for a time period, and reset means for resetting said time period in response to the presence of said material within said housing, said aroma containing material having a portion thereof engaging said reset means upon insertion within said housing for resetting said time period.
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25. An aroma producing cartridge for use in an aroma generating apparatus having a housing, said apparatus including circuit means operative for producing an aroma from said cartridge over a time period, said cartridge comprising a first body portion containing an aroma producing material and a second body portion operatively engageable with said circuit means for resetting said time period, said housing and said cartridge cooperatively constructed to permit engagement of said second body portion with said circuit means upon linear insertion of said cartridge into said housing.
Specification