fig1 illustrates a present invention air freshener dispenser device 10 which has a design imprinted on the upper surface of each cartridge . a fig1 type of air freshener dispenser device has a semi - rigid structure , and its typical dimensions are about nine inches in length , about one half to one inch in width , and about one sixteenth to one half inch in thickness . a fig1 type of air freshener dispenser device can be utilized by peeling the outer impermeable membrane partially or completely from one cartridge , or peeling the outer impermeable membrane from each of the twin cartridges . fig2 is a cross - sectional end view of a fig1 type of air freshener dispenser cartridge which has tray 12 and air freshener ingredient 14 , and a flange 15 which is seal - bonded with inner thin film vapor - permeable membrane 16 and coextensive outer thin film vapor - impermeable membrane 18 . fig3 is a cross - sectional end view similar to fig2 in which centrally disposed structural reinforcing rib 19 extends along the bottom surface of tray 12 . fig4 is a cross - sectional end view similar to fig3 in which two spaced structural reinforcing ribs 19 extend along the bottom surface of tray 12 . rib 19 can have a configuration which is adapted to key tray 12 into a conformational slotted space in a dispensing housing structure . fig5 is a cross - sectional end view of an alternative reservoir configuration with a stepped structure . fig6 is a side view of a fig1 air freshener device , which has cartridges 20 folded 90 ° c . with trays 12 in a bottom - to - bottom configuration . cartridges 20 are folded along seams 21 . fig6 also illustrates the partial removal of membrane 18 from the surface of membrane 16 of the upper positioned cartridge 20 . tray 12 of each cartridge 20 can be constructed by either injection or thermoform molding of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene , polypropylene , polyvinyl chloride , and the like . in a preferred embodiment , end - to - end attached trays 12 , and interconnecting flexible hinge band 23 , are thermoformed as a unitary structure , and optionally include folding seams 21 to facilitate a 90 ° c . folding of cartridges 20 . thin film vapor - impermeable membrane 18 is bonded to thin film vapor - permeable membrane 16 in the form of a laminate . vapor - impermeable membrane 18 is peelable , so that its removal allows air freshener ingredient 14 to migrate through vapor - permeable membrane 16 and volatilize into the atmosphere . peelable membrane 18 can be adapted for removal from both cartridge units at the same time , or from each cartridge unit at different times . vapor - permeable membrane 16 can be in the form of a flexible thin film of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene , isotactic polypropylene , cellulose acetate , and the like . membrane 16 permits migration of the enclosed volatile air freshener ingredient 14 , either as a liquid or a vapor , depending on the type of membrane 16 being employed . membrane 16 can be a microporous type ( submicron pores ), such as isotactic hydrophobic polypropylene film sold under the celgard tradename ( celanese ). microporous thermoplastic polymer films are described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 055 , 297 ; incorporated by reference . vapor - impermeable membrane 18 can be in the form of a flexible thin film such as aluminum foil or nylon film , which is peelable from its adhering bond to vapor - permeable membrane 16 . in a preferred embodiment a laminate of membrane 16 and membrane 18 is preformed , and then applied to tray 12 to cover the open interior , and heat - sealed along periphery flange 15 to enclose the reservoir content of air freshener ingredient 14 . production of a laminate of permeable and impermeable membranes is illustrated in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 145 , 001 ; incorporated by reference . in another preferred embodiment the membrane laminate is not heat - sealed to periphery flange 15 at the respective ends of twin cartridges 20 . in fig1 the heat - sealing of the membrane laminate end sections is shown as chevron - shaped heat - seal 22 . this facilitates manual gripping and peeling of membrane 18 from membrane 16 . air freshener ingredient 14 can be any air treating material which can migrate through membrane 16 and disperse into the atmosphere in vapor form . typically air freshener ingredient 14 is a fragrance or a deodorant in liquid or gel form . preferably , air freshener ingredient 14 is a liquid fragrance comprising one or more volatile organic compounds which are available from perfumery suppliers such as firmenich inc ., takasago inc ., noville inc ., quest co ., and givaudan - roure corp . most conventional fragrance materials are volatile essential oils . the fragrance can be a synthetically formed material , or a naturally derived oil such as oil of bergamot , bitter orange , lemon , mandarin , caraway , cedar leaf , clove leaf , cedar wood , geranium , lavender , orange , origanum , petitgrain , white cedar , patchouli , lavandin , neroli , rose absolute , and the like . a wide variety of chemicals are known for perfumery , such as aldehydes , ketones , esters , alcohols , terpenes , and the like . a fragrance can be relatively simple in composition , or can be a complex mixture of natural and synthetic chemical components . a typical scented oil can comprise woody / earthy bases containing exotic constituents such as sandalwood oil , civet , patchouli oil , and the like . a scented oil can have a light floral fragrance , such as rose extract or violet extract . scented oil also can be formulated to provide desirable fruity odors , such as lime , lemon or orange . synthetic types of fragrance compositions either alone or in combination with natural oils are described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 314 , 915 ; 4 , 411 , 829 ; and 4 , 434 , 306 ; incorporated herein by reference . other artificial liquid fragrances include geraniol , geranyl acetate , eugenol , isoeugenol , linalool , linalyl acetate , phenethyl alcohol , methyl ethyl ketone , methylionone , isobomyl acetate , and the like . a liquid fragrance also can be formed into a thixotropic gel by the addition of a thickening agent , such as fumed silica of the type marketed under the cabosil trademark ( cabot corporation ). a fragrance ingredient also can be in the form of a crystalline solid , which have the ability to sublime into the vapor phase at ambient temperatures . a crystalline fragrance starting material can be selected from organic compounds which include vanillin , ethyl vanillin , coumarin , tonalid , calone , heliotropene , musk xylol , cedrol , musk ketone benzophenone , raspberry ketone , methyl naphthyl ketone beta , phenyl ethyl salicylate , veltol , maltol , maple lactone , proeugenol acetate , evemyl , and the like . this type of fragrance can contribute a long term air - treating capability to an air freshener dispenser device . a present invention air freshener dispenser device can be produced in a continuous process by providing a moving band of thermoformed end - to - end hinged trays in repeating unitary sections , in combination with an air freshener filling station , and a moving band of flexible membrane laminate in contacting and sealing proximity with the flanges of the filled trays . the unitary sections are cut and trimmed from the moving band at the terminal end of the production line . a present invention air freshener device can be produced in high volume from relatively inexpensive plastic materials . after usage , the device qualifies for disposal as a non - hazardous solid waste . the present invention also contemplates an integrated combination of a fig1 type air freshener device and a dispensing holder structure . the fig1 device then functions as a replaceable assembly having a dual refill cartridge capacity .
this invention provides an air freshener dispenser device which consists of twin cartridges which are connected end - to - end with a flexible hinge means . the two cartridges can be folded together and incorporated in a dispensing holder as multiple refill units . each cartridge is composed of a shallow tray which contains a volatile air freshener medium , and which has its open surface sealed with a coextensive bonded laminate of an inner vapor - permeable membrane and an outer peelable vapor - impermeable membrane . removal of the peelable vapor - impermeable membrane sealing the two trays allows delivery of the air freshener medium as vapor into the environment at a controlled rate over an extended period of time .